Rehmannia elata

Rehmannia elata, Chinese Foxglove is a tall-growing herbaceous perennial with pinkish-magenta flowers finely speckled with paler pink and with a yellow throat, speckled with larger darker pink spots. This speckled throat resembles the flowers of Digitalis and gives rise to the Foxglove common name. It is very free-flowering and the exotic-looking blooms are a welcome addition to any garden.

In 2016, the update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APGIV) enlarged Orobanchaceae - the Parasitic Broomrapes - to include Rehmannia, making it one of the few genera within the family that do not have a parasitic habit on the roots of other plants. You will however, still see it listed under the Family names of either Plantaginaceae or Scrophulariaceae.

Although hardy in the UK it will benefit from a thick mulch in the winter.