Yesterday I noticed that the Coltsfoot was in flower at Sweetbriar Marshes in Norwich.

Coltsfoot at Sweetbriar Marshes

In summer I hardly give Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara, a second glance. By then, only the leaves show above ground. It is these that are said to resemble a colt’s foot in shape, hence the plant’s English name. They appear as late as May, after the flowers have died down.

In March, or even earlier, the flowers are very pretty, bright yellow and have a superficial resemblance to dandelions. Both are members of the daisy family, Asteraceae. Coltsfoot grows on waste ground, especially where drainage is poor, such as by riverside paths and on the crumbling cliffs between Cromer and Sheringham in North Norfolk. It is a useful source of nectar for honeybees early in the year.

Tussilago comes from tussis, a cough, as the plant was sometimes used as a cough medicine. A Scottish name for the plant, derived from this, is “Tushylucky” or “Tushies”. Richard Mabey, in Flora Britannica, also mentions that Coltsfoot was used as a herbal tobacco – in Somerset it is sometimes called “Baccy plant”. So much for curing coughs!

Coltsfoot leaves and flowers are edible. The flowers have a flavour similar to aniseed and can be added to salads. Fresh leaves are bitter but can be made into a tea that tastes rather like liquorice. See the Plants For A Future and Eat Weeds websites for more details.

Coltsfoot growing on river bank near Acle

However, beware! If you pick the plant in the wild you should treat it with caution as it contains a pyrrolizidine alkaloid called senkirkine, which can cause liver damage, certainly at high doses. The sale of Coltsfoot was banned in Austria and Germany because of this but cultivars are now available (variety “Wien”) which do not contain the alkaloids.

Close relatives of Coltsfoot are Butterbur (Petasites hybridus) and Winter Heliotrope (Petasites fragrans). Both flower early in the year, before the leaves. Butterbur has pink, slightly fragrant, flowers that appear in February or March and leaves like a much bigger version of Coltsfoot, once used to wrap butter. Winter Heliotrope is a very invasive, introduced plant from North Africa, but it has deliciously vanilla-scented pale mauve flowers which appear around Christmas time.