Tussilago farfara 'Coltsfoot'

[Ex. Co. Durham, England]

Asteraceae: creeping perennial with runners and upright flowering stalks that are leafless, purplish and woolly, with overlapping, flashy bracts. Grows in bare and disturbed ground, particularly on clay. The flowers are 15-35mm across, with orange-yellow, and appear from Feb-April. The flowers are in a ‘clock’ of hairy seeds. The rounded, heart-shaped, and up to 20cm across, these only start appear after flowering. Widespread and fairly common across the country. Native to most Europe, including Britain, from Norway south and east to North Africa, western and northern Asia.

USES:

Flower buds and young flowers can be eaten raw or cooked, they have a pleasant aniseed flavour, and they can add a distinctive aromatic flavour to salads. Young leaves can be used as well raw or cooked, they can be used in salads, added to soups, or cooked as a vegetable. The leaves have a bitter taste unless they are washed after being boiled. An aromatic tea is made from the fresh or dried leaves and flowers, this has a liquorice-like flavour.

An effective demulcent and expectorant herb, coltsfoot is one of the most popular European remedies for the treatment of a wide range of chest complaints. It is widely available in health food shops. The leaves are commonly used in Europe, though the leaves should not be used for more than 4 - 6 weeks at a time, the herb should not be taken whilst pregnant or breast-feeding and it should not be given to children under the age of six. Modern research has shown that extracts of the whole plant can increase immune resistance. The leaves are harvested in June and early July, the flowers are harvested when fully open and the root is harvested in the autumn. All can be dried and used as required. The plant has antitussive, astringent, demulcent, emollient, expectorant, stimulant and tonic properties.

GROWING INFORMATION:

A very easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils when grown in full sun. It prefers a moist neutral to alkaline soil and will also succeed in partial shade. Plants are hardy to about -29°C. Coltsfoot is a very tough plant that is more than capable of looking after itself. Seed can be sown in early spring or autumn.

HARVESTED: 2020

APPROX. 50+ SEEDS