Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Tussilago farfara
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Coltsfoot at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
This species has spread rapidly southward from the Northeast, where it was introduced in North America. Though preferring a cool and moist climate, Tussilago seems likely to continue to increase in abundance and to spread... Read more in Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Tussilago farfara
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Tussilago farfara
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Tussilago farfara
COMMON NAME:
Coltsfoot
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_tufa_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm170326_238
March Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
Flower heads borne singly, erect at flowering, nodding in fruit, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm170326_239
March Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
)
JK Marlow jkm170326_241
March Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
Phyllaries erect, distinct, lance-linear to linear, subequal, margins scarious, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm170326_292
March Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
Basal leaves usually develop after flowers, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm170406_457
March Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
Cauline leaves lance-ovate to linear, bractlike or scale-like, per Flora of North America.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_tussilago_farfara_23
March
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_tussilago_farfara_25
March
Ray florets female. Disk florets few, functionally male, per Flora of China.
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Ben Geer Keys bgk1563_a
April
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JK Marlow jkm060710_008
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
Introduced into the Northeast, this has spread rapidly southward, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
)
JK Marlow jkm070702_162
July Pocahontas County WV
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
)
JK Marlow jkm070702_173
July Pocahontas County WV
The Falls of Hill Creek
)
JK Marlow jkm160818_636
August Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
)
JK Marlow jkm160818_637
August Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
)
JK Marlow jkm160818_638
August Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
Basal leaf blades palmately nerved, orbiculate to polygonal or lobed, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm130906_051
September Washington County ME
Leaves heart-shaped to nearly round, shallowly lobed, long-petioled, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm130906_052
September Washington County ME
Ancient Greeks boiled the leaves with honey to make cough syrup, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm130906_053
September Washington County ME
Leaves densely white-hairy beneath, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm130906_055
September Washington County ME
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Tussilago farfara
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Tussilago farfara
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Tussilago farfara
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Tussilago farfara
1563
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Roadsides, especially gravelly or shaly roadbanks or ditches, streamside gravel bars, disturbed ground, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Eurasia
Common in NC Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal and alternate (basal usually developing after flowers)
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Rays: Yellow
Disc: Yellow
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers functionally staminate/ Ray flowers pistillate & fertile
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010) p104
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p358
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p303
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p332
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p384
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p200
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