365 project - #69
Nikon D80, 18-135mm @90mm, f8, 1/100, ISO100
We went for a walk and found the year's first Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara). This invasive aster is one of the first plants to emerge after winter here. For obvious reasons, most people call them dandelions, and they are in the same family, but they're a different plant. They bloom early in the spring as a single flower head (Aster flowers are composits, each "flower" is composed of several individual flowers; each "petal" is a single flower) on a relatively thick stalk and later in the season sprout a single semi-circular broad leaf, from which it derives its common name.
As with most of the common invasive species in North America, coltsfoot thrives in disturbed habitats, like cleared lots, roadsides and other urban and agricultural habitats. Habitat is plentiful for it to be very successful. I've even been surprised to find it a couple kilometers into old growth forest with full canopy in highly moist soils; surprising because, as with dandelions, the species disperses with a parachute like seed (achene).