Common Foxglove vs Great Flying Fox

Digitalis purpurea compared with Pteropus neohibernicus

Key Differences

Common Foxglove is Not Evaluated while Great Flying Fox is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Foxglove	Great Flying Fox
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Lamiales (Lamiales)	Chiroptera (Bats)
Family	Plantaginaceae	Pteropodidae (Fruit Bats)
Genus	Digitalis	Pteropus (Flying Foxes)
Species	Digitalis purpurea	Pteropus neohibernicus

Conservation Status

Common Foxglove

NE — Not Evaluated

Great Flying Fox

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Foxglove	Great Flying Fox
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Foxglove

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Zimbabwe), Asia (5 countries), Europe (16 countries), North America (4 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (5 countries).

Great Flying Fox

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Common Foxglove

<em>Digitalis purpurea</em> is a biennial or short-lived perennial plant in the family Plantaginaceae, order Lamiales, commonly known as common foxglove. This species is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant and has been naturalized broadly across the globe, with presence documented across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America. <em>Digitalis purpurea</em> typically grows in open woodlands, woodland clearings, hillsides, and disturbed ground, particularly on acidic, well-drained soils. In its first year, the plant forms a rosette of large, softly hairy leaves; in its second year it produces a tall flower spike, often exceeding one meter, bearing distinctive tubular, purple-pink flowers with spotted throats. The flowers are adapted for pollination by bumblebees. The plant contains potent cardiac glycosides, particularly digitoxin and digoxin, compounds that have been critically important in the development of heart failure medications. Despite its medicinal importance, the plant is toxic if ingested. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.