Better late than never (plant of the week for April 11-18 2010: Tussilago farfara)
I found some of these flowers several weeks ago, at the very beginning of spring, in the gravel pit near the rental property. They were strange-looking and piqued my curiosity, so here's a post about them.
Coltsfoot
Synonyms: "Coughwort", "Horse Foot", Tussilago farfara
Range and Habitat: According to the USDA, coltsfoot may be found in all States east of the Mississippi except the deep south, and in eastern Canada below the boreal forest zone. It's also reported from Washington state & British Columbia. It is a non-native invasive here in the Americas, but it also grows natively in several areas of Eurasia. It grows in highly disturbed, well-lit areas: along paths and roadsides, in recently abandoned fields, and in rocky wastes and gravel pits. The Audubon Society's field guide to New England claims that it prefers "moist areas", but it seems to prefer well-drained slopes in the gravel pit, rather than in the low, wet areas with the cattails and duckweed.
Native? Y/N: N, as mentioned above it evolved in the Palearctic. It was likely introduced deliberately into the New World during the European invasions for its chemical properties (see below).
Plant ID: The flowers begin pushing out of the ground almost as soon as the weather allows, long before the coltsfoot even considers putting out leaves. This year, that was in very earliest May. These bright, yellow flowers1 rather resemble those of the common dandelion, but the red and green, scaly, arm-like stems are quite distinct from the smooth ones of dandelions. And, of course, the dandelion doesn't flower until well after its put out its leaves - the skinny, many-pointed things we are all so familiar with. The leaves of the coltsfoot, on the other hand, are large, flat, and pumpkin-like2, growing conspicuously in foot-wide clumps. They posed a curious challenge for me last fall, when I had no idea what they were, but was intrigued. The flowers become fertilized and set seed before the leaves come out, too, and right now some of the plants in the gravel pit are producing fluffy, cottony bunches of seed.
Ecology: I am given to understand that in its native lands T. farfara principally grows along watercourses, in wet but unflooded sandbars and gravel beds. It produces a deep taproot (up to 3 m into the soil, according to the Invasive Plant Atlas!) and sends out rhizomes that can produce new clones of the original plant. This can lead to large, weedy clumps3 of the plant which push out others around it.
Uses and Horticulture: In the days when people lived closer to the land than they do now, they made much use of this plant. Its very name, Tussilago, refers to its property to suppress coughs4, and its verdant leaves have also been used as salad greens. Since smokers are prone to terrible coughs, it used to be common practice to add dried coltsfoot leaves to one's tobacco, with the theory that this might ease the cough. This theory, though, seems to have no basis in fact, as the burning destroys the very chemicals in the plant what soothe the throat5. It has also been historically added to sweets, and a British company still offers a "cough drop" style candy made from the herb.
It should be warned, however, that recent research has found that some of the chemicals in the plant may cause liver damage5. Wikipedia even cites two medical articles claiming to show cases where an infant died due to exposure to the product. I'm too lazy to actually track these articles down, but nevertheless there they are. Still, coltsfoot has been safely used as medicine for centuries, and "Herbs 2000"5 says that boiling the parts of the plant to be used denatures most of the dangerous compounds. Also, one may take the precaution of not using the flowers in one's preparations - for they possess higher concentrations of the toxin than the leaves and roots do. Following these recommendations, then, may lead to a safe use of coltsfoot; although it seems prudent that pregnant and breastfeeding women not ingest the plant. Even if one wants to induce a miscarriage, T. farfara does not seem like a terribly reliable way of doing so.
Taxonomy: T. farfara is a member of that largest of plant families, the Asteraceae. This giant family includes most of our common oilseed and salad crops, several different culinarily important vegetables, a number of important herbs and medicines, and some spectacular wildflowers. Everything from goldenrod to artichoke, from chamomile to lettuce, and from thistle to Dahlia is included within this titanic family.
Including most of your mom's common oilseed crops since 1986,
--mark
1Photo courtesy of me.
2Image courtesy of the Connecticut Botanical Society.
3Photo courtesy of the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England.
4At least, according to Wikipedia. They don't give any citation for this claim about its name, so take it with at least one, and possibly more, grain(s) of salt. The claim that it suppresses coughs, however, is repeated universally.
5See here.
Coltsfoot
Synonyms: "Coughwort", "Horse Foot", Tussilago farfara
Range and Habitat: According to the USDA, coltsfoot may be found in all States east of the Mississippi except the deep south, and in eastern Canada below the boreal forest zone. It's also reported from Washington state & British Columbia. It is a non-native invasive here in the Americas, but it also grows natively in several areas of Eurasia. It grows in highly disturbed, well-lit areas: along paths and roadsides, in recently abandoned fields, and in rocky wastes and gravel pits. The Audubon Society's field guide to New England claims that it prefers "moist areas", but it seems to prefer well-drained slopes in the gravel pit, rather than in the low, wet areas with the cattails and duckweed.
Native? Y/N: N, as mentioned above it evolved in the Palearctic. It was likely introduced deliberately into the New World during the European invasions for its chemical properties (see below).
Plant ID: The flowers begin pushing out of the ground almost as soon as the weather allows, long before the coltsfoot even considers putting out leaves. This year, that was in very earliest May. These bright, yellow flowers1 rather resemble those of the common dandelion, but the red and green, scaly, arm-like stems are quite distinct from the smooth ones of dandelions. And, of course, the dandelion doesn't flower until well after its put out its leaves - the skinny, many-pointed things we are all so familiar with. The leaves of the coltsfoot, on the other hand, are large, flat, and pumpkin-like2, growing conspicuously in foot-wide clumps. They posed a curious challenge for me last fall, when I had no idea what they were, but was intrigued. The flowers become fertilized and set seed before the leaves come out, too, and right now some of the plants in the gravel pit are producing fluffy, cottony bunches of seed.
Ecology: I am given to understand that in its native lands T. farfara principally grows along watercourses, in wet but unflooded sandbars and gravel beds. It produces a deep taproot (up to 3 m into the soil, according to the Invasive Plant Atlas!) and sends out rhizomes that can produce new clones of the original plant. This can lead to large, weedy clumps3 of the plant which push out others around it.
Uses and Horticulture: In the days when people lived closer to the land than they do now, they made much use of this plant. Its very name, Tussilago, refers to its property to suppress coughs4, and its verdant leaves have also been used as salad greens. Since smokers are prone to terrible coughs, it used to be common practice to add dried coltsfoot leaves to one's tobacco, with the theory that this might ease the cough. This theory, though, seems to have no basis in fact, as the burning destroys the very chemicals in the plant what soothe the throat5. It has also been historically added to sweets, and a British company still offers a "cough drop" style candy made from the herb.
It should be warned, however, that recent research has found that some of the chemicals in the plant may cause liver damage5. Wikipedia even cites two medical articles claiming to show cases where an infant died due to exposure to the product. I'm too lazy to actually track these articles down, but nevertheless there they are. Still, coltsfoot has been safely used as medicine for centuries, and "Herbs 2000"5 says that boiling the parts of the plant to be used denatures most of the dangerous compounds. Also, one may take the precaution of not using the flowers in one's preparations - for they possess higher concentrations of the toxin than the leaves and roots do. Following these recommendations, then, may lead to a safe use of coltsfoot; although it seems prudent that pregnant and breastfeeding women not ingest the plant. Even if one wants to induce a miscarriage, T. farfara does not seem like a terribly reliable way of doing so.
Taxonomy: T. farfara is a member of that largest of plant families, the Asteraceae. This giant family includes most of our common oilseed and salad crops, several different culinarily important vegetables, a number of important herbs and medicines, and some spectacular wildflowers. Everything from goldenrod to artichoke, from chamomile to lettuce, and from thistle to Dahlia is included within this titanic family.
Including most of your mom's common oilseed crops since 1986,
--mark
1Photo courtesy of me.
2Image courtesy of the Connecticut Botanical Society.
3Photo courtesy of the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England.
4At least, according to Wikipedia. They don't give any citation for this claim about its name, so take it with at least one, and possibly more, grain(s) of salt. The claim that it suppresses coughs, however, is repeated universally.
5See here.