Digitalis obscura, commonly called willow-leaved foxglove or dusty foxglove or Spanish rusty foxglove, is a flowering plant native to regions in Spain and Morocco. It is also grown as an ornamental flower. This foxglove is a woody perennial plant belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. Along with the other foxgloves it used to be placed in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae; however, recent genetic research has moved the genus Digitalis to a larger family. It is similar to many of the foxglove species in its high toxicity and medicinal use as a source for the heart-regulating drug digoxin. Its strikingly distinctive amber- to copper-coloured flowers give the species its name and help distinguish it from other members of the genus.
Digitalis obscura is native to the western Mediterranean in eastern and southern Spain and northern Morocco, where it is found growing in dry, open woods and often on limestone.
Digitalis obscura subsp. laciniata is found in the mountains of southern Spain and northern Morocco. It has serrate or deeply toothed leaf margins in contrast to the smooth margins of the species.
Digitalis obscura is a shrub or herbaceous perennial growing from a woody base, reaching 1 to 3.9 feet (0.30 to 1.19 m) tall. The stems are smooth and erect. The long leaves are basal and form in a rosette fashion, growing outward closer to the ground. Smaller leaves grow alternately along the stem. The thick, glossy leaves are lanceolate in shape, with acute tips. The leaves have a blue-green color and a leathery texture that gives them a shine. A mature plant spreads over the ground to about 0.75–1.5 feet.
The many flowers of the plant are large and tubular, opening into a funnel shape. They droop from the point of attachment to the stem, occurring in clusters on the same side of the floral axis. The flowers are approximately 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) long and have an appearance of dropping bells or snipped-off fingers as the common name of the genus, foxglove, suggests. This foxglove is distinguished by its rusty dark-orange to green-yellow flowers. Inside the flowers, red venation and spotting can also be seen as well as tiny hairs at the tips. The arrangement of the flowers in respect to the stalk is racemes and the flowers droop downward.
