- Genus
- Tussilago
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Common Names
- ass's foot, bull foot, clay weed, colt herb, common colt's foot, coughwort, dove dock, dummy weed, foal foot, ginger, hoofs, horse foot, horse hoof, sow foot, tushy luck, cleats [2], cleets [2], foal's foot [2]
About this plant
Traditionally an ingredient in cough medicine, coltsfoot flowers before its leaves emerge in early spring. Flowers are yellow and similar to dandelions, borne singularly on short scaly stems. Leaves are entire and toothed with a grey tinge. It spreads by means of fleshy but brittle rhizomes, making it a perennial nuisance in the garden border. Flowers provide an early source of nectar for honey bees. Coltsfoot is also a larval food source for moths