Wild Plants of the Copper Basin: Coltsfoot (Petasites species)

By Janelle Eklund
May 14 and it was a clear sunny day. The wind howled through the night and all day clearing the haze and high thin clouds that hung in the Copper Basin for the last few days. It was a crystal clear evening. As I drank in the clearness of the Wrangell Mountains from a window high in the house it became clear (no pun intended) that a picture was in order. With camera and tripod in hand I walked out into the field in the back of the house and tried to find the right setting. But I was too low and there was nothing to frame the crystal clear mountains. A wide angle snapshot was taken with the field in the foreground, making the mountains look distant. I started wandering closer to the house where it was higher ground, ending up behind the garage. Still not the best view but as I looked on the ground something caught my eye. This area is pretty bare of vegetation having been disturbed when the house was built. Most of the time it is in the shade so in the spring the snow slowly melts and, for awhile, the ground is saturated.
 
I was totally surprised to see two coltsfoot growing out of this barren little area. This plant usually grows in swampy wet areas. But here was one just emerging out of the ground and another, more taller mature one, in full bloom close by. Guess there was enough moisture to propagate a stray seed in this unseemly area.
 
In the spring the stems of coltsfoot can be steamed, fried or chopped into other dishes for a pleasant treat. The leaves can be eaten too but they are somewhat hairy and not very agreeable to the tongue. The roots have also been roasted and eaten by Siberian natives.
 
Coltsfoot is an antispasmodic making it a medicinal plant of choice for coughs, congestion, asthma, lung problems, etc. by making it into a tincture, tea, or syrup.  See Janice Schofield's book, Discovering Wild Plants, for a cough syrup made out of the leaves, water and honey. It got rid of a bad cough she had and she was able to sleep. The leaves and grated root can be made into a poultice to relieve bug bites, sores, and pain from arthritis.
 
 The leaves of plants are most often the first signs of growth. But with Coltsfoot they develop their flowers before the leaves. Sometimes you will just see leaves with no flower stem coming from it. These leaves grew from the underground root of the mother flower stem.
 
Coltsfoot is a pretty safe plant but should be used in moderation. High dosages can irritate the liver.
 
As we returned home from Glennallen one evening, I noticed lots of coltsfoot glistening in wet areas along the Richardson highway.
 
It's exciting to see new life wriggling its way out of the ground in all its splendor, and it's interesting to see how things develop from year to year depending on the weather. One year on May 4 we had a big dump of snow and no leaves in sight on the trees. The next year on May 5 the leaves were just opening up on the trees. Although it was a cool day, it certainly wasn't cold enough for snow or lack of plants making their debut. Goodness sake we already had seen 70° temps or close to. Tells me warmth is the key to waking up the plants.
 
From my light to yours-
References: Discovering Wild Plants by Janice Schofield
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