Walking through the brown, still getting ready for spring woods, it’s hard not to notice a vibrant, yellow wildflower that looks very much like a dandelion. Though it has many common names, I was taught this plant as being Coltsfoot.
It is often found in colonies of dozens of plants. The flowers appear in early spring before dandelions appear. The leaves, which resemble a colt’s foot in cross section, do not appear usually until after the seeds are set. So the flowers often appear on stems with no apparent leaves, and the later-appearing leaves then wither and die during the season without flowers.
Coltsfoot is not native to the United States, but it has been here a long time. It was most likely brought here by settlers as a medicinal item. Coltsfoot has been used in herbal medicine for its purported cough-suppressing effects. The plant has been used historically to treat lung ailments such as asthma as well as various coughs.
Its Latin name is Tussilago farfara; “tussilago” itself means “cough suppressant.” It was so popular in Europe at one time that French pharmacists painted its flowers on their doorposts.
