Coltsfoot

Tussilago farfara L.

Asteraceae – Daisy family

One of the harbingers of spring it was flowering here at Creekside by the 1st of February and is now flowering in abundance around the site. Coltsfoot has attracted attention over the centuries due to its unusual lifestyle. It flowers before it produces leaves and hence one of the names it became known by was 'son before the father'.

Other names up and down the country such as ass'sfoot, bullsfoot, calvesfoot, horsehoof, horsefoot and foalsfoot all refer to the size and shape of the leaf. It was also known as Poor man's baccy and it still is smoked as a herbal tobacco.

Like many other yellow flowers it was called 'gowan' because of its golden colour.

Its botanical name refers to one of its medicinal uses. Tussilago is taken from the latin word for cough. It has been used as a cough remedy in traditional European and Chinese medicine for thousands of years.

In London it is distributed throughout the metropolis on brownfield sites and disturbed soils especially London clay. A plant limited only by the opportunities available to it. Wherever the sod is broken coltsfoot is likely to spring.

This year's leaves are starting to come through and soon the flowers will go to seed and spring will be well on its way. The leaves will grow to be the size and shape of a horse's hoof. It will store energy in its root system so that next year its flowers will again rise to the challenge of a new season before its leaves do.