Some of my readers may remember I did a series of posts last year on wild flowers/weeds growing in and around my garden. Well, the series will continue this year, as there are still so many plants that I want to post about and share!
Yesterday I spotted the first wild flower of the year: Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara.
What a wonderful sight amid the winter debris and moss! This small flower measures about 3cm when fully open, and grows on long scaly stems which continue to grow taller with the flower already open. The large leaves will emerge later – the leaves are what gives the plant its name as they supposedly resemble a colt’s foot!
The ground has to be at least 5°C before this plant will flower, so it is always a lovely find as it signifies the end of winter. In the phenological calendar we are therefore now officially in ‘Early Spring’. Hooray!
Interestingly, a report has shown that Coltsfoot in Germany still flowers at approximately the same time each year and has not reacted to ‘global warming’ at all…
I find it here directly outside our garden gate on the edge of the woods, and on our lane through the woods up to the main road. It is an old medicinal plant used primarily for tea that is said to help with coughs and asthma. As with all herbal medicines though, it should be used with caution, as too much can damage the liver.
Another interesting and useful fact is that the large leaves are soft and hairy on the underside, like tissue paper, and are a hiker’s friend when caught short in the woods! 😉
Do you see Coltsfoot near you? And if so, when does it usually start flowering?
My Wild and Weedy Wednesday posts will probably be a little intermittent until spring gets a foothold, but I just had to share this little ray of sunshine!
😁
Words and Herbs 
We don’t have Coltsfoot here, but I expect the climate is too warm. The flower looks similar to a dandelion to me, and we have plenty of those. I don’t mind having dandelions in the yard, so long as they don’t take over my garden beds! I find the use of plants as herbal remedies fascinating.
Yes, they could easily be mistaken for dandelions until you see their long stems. (We have a trillion dandelions in our garden in spring! LOL!) I have become increasingly interested in herbal medicine as we have so much at our fingertips here – both in the garden and the countryside around us. 😃
I wonder how much the length of day also has to do with bloom time.
Apparently the soil temperature is the key with many spring plants here and they do vary in a cold year… if there is snow on the ground they will be up to a month later. It woild be interesting to find out more about how daylight affects plants in spring though.
When I moved to a warm climate, I could not understand why everything wasn’t growing and blooming all winter. Some plants did, such as annual we put in. Not being trained in gardening, someone explained length of day to me. Apparently the equator has the same length all year. I’m not quite close enough.
I don’t think I’ve seen Coltsfoot here, but yes many cheery dandelions. This post is a good reminder to sprinkle herb seeds out. tzgarden.blogspot.com
I will wait a bit to sow any seeds, but it is nice to know the ground is warming up. 😃
Ha! As the weeds proliferate during our rainy season, I thought of you and your weedy Wednesday posts ;) I may join you on some future Wednesday. It’s interesting how many plants we call weeds have medical value.
That was what fascinated me last year when I started looking up all these plants… I have got a growing number of reference books on the subject now! 😃
How interesting, my aunt’s house name is Coltsfoot, but I have never thought about it until this post. I don’t think I really knew of the plant.
What a nice name for a house. 😃 I wonder if the plant played a role in that….
The colonists brought coltsfoot with them to the New World, so we have lots of it along the sides of the road. Certainly one of the first signs of spring!
Yes, it always grows at roadsides. I wonder why. I know a lot of plants like disturbed ground. Perhaps Coltsfoot likes salt and exhaust fumes! LOL!
Sandy soil and little competition as they bake in summer’s heat! 🙂
A hiker’s friend? I love that. Thanks for the education, Cathy.
You never know when such information will come in handy! 😆
I must look out for Coltsfoot having read your article I now know what to look for. It’s not a plant that I have knowingly seen. Thanks for the guidance
I do hope you see some now you have started looking out for it. It can only be a good sign to see wild flowers growing.
Interesting to hear about the consistent flowering time. Curiously, I saw a patch of dasies a couple of days ago, which seems a little early
We get the occasional daisy patch even in winter. I think close to the ground in sheltered spots it can be warmer than we think.
You are probably right, but I don’t think I have noticed before – and the old saying says that if you have a patch of daisies you can cover with your foot, then summer is here…which sounds like wishful thinking to me!!
I haven’t noticed any here yet. Must check. I saw some of that nicely scented Butterbur flowering in January at the end of our road and that’s usually our first blooming weed here (other than daisies). Glad to see this series come back, Cathy!
I don’t think I know Butterbur. Must keep my eyes open!
I actually spotted this in one spot in my clay garden each year around the same time. Not a native, not sure who brought it.
So many European wild flowers/weeds got transported to America by mistake (and vice versa). It wood make a wonderful story, to follow the first seed that arrived in the ‘New World’ and how it spread from there!
We do have loads of dandelions, Cathy – but I don’t think I’ve ever seen coltsfoot, even though it is, apparently, common throughout Scotland. Now that you’ve brought it to my attention, I must look out for it!
I hope you see some Catherine! It grows at the roadsides here and I suppose could be mistaken for a dandelion from a distance. But our dandelions won’t be flowering for some time yet so a flash of yellow this early has to be Coltsfoot.
We have a lot of dandelions but I don’t know coltsfoot! It seems a bit more delicate and I find it very attractive. What a thrill to see it popping up for the first time this year. Every early hint of spring brings such joy!
Yes, it is more delicate as the stem is quite fragile. But they must be tough plants. The leaves are fascinating as they only appear after the flower and get enormous! It is exciting seeing the first ones and gets me looking for more!
Coltsfoot sometimes appears in the garden here Cathy but I haven’t seen it so far this year. I always think that it’s a strange looking plant. Glad to hear that it’s warming up in your neck of the woods 😀
Coltsfoot does look kind of ‘jurassic’, doesn’t it! I tried picking it for a vase once, but it closed up and flopped!
While a “weed”, its bright yellow color announcing the first signs of spring must be very welcomed.
Oh yes, that colour is so uplifting!