After so many months of winter whiteness, it’s a relief to watch the snow recede at last. We’re always grateful for the spring melt, even though the loss of snow cover gives way to a …
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After so many months of winter whiteness, it’s a relief to watch the snow recede at last. We’re always grateful for the spring melt, even though the loss of snow cover gives way to a mostly brown world: brown grass, sand everywhere along the roads, and brown needles under the pines. Not to mention the brown leaves we missed last fall, and maybe the dog poop that had built up, mercifully hidden under the snow. The few sepia-toned weeks after the white stuff disappears, but before trees and grass wake up, can be visually bleak.
That’s probably why I’m always so happy to see the bright yellow flowers of coltsfoot emerging in clumps from muddy roadside ditches, rail embankments, and other neglected places. These tiny sunbursts do a lot to dispel my winter eye fatigue. Coltsfoot flowers look kind of like mini-dandelions. They have the same colour and composite structure. The odd thing is that they emerge before any leaves come out.
Although native to Europe and Asia, coltsfoot has naturalized throughout North America. Many non-native plants came here accidentally, but this one was planted by settlers because of its value as a medicinal plant. We don’t know if coltsfoot cheered up the early European settlers during the post-winter “mud season,” but we do know they used it extensively to treat coughs.
Coltsfoot belongs to the genus Tussilago, which is derived from the Latin word for cough – a nod to its efficacy as a cough suppressant. Its common name stems from the fact that its leaves, which emerge after the flowers wither away, resemble a horse’s hoof.