Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)
Wild Flowers of Sleepy Hollow Lake
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"And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.
And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31)
(Coltsfoot - 01)
On 15 March 2002 we spotted these coltsfoot wildflowers growing
on the side of the road. They were the first wildflowers of the season
that we came across. Coltsfoot, a spring wildflower, which grows north of
a line from New Jersey to Illinois, bloom from March through May.
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(Coltsfoot - 02)
The coltsfoot is a member of the Composite family, meaning that
it is not one flower, but a composite made up of many smaller flowers that form
the "flower" we see in this photo. The outer bright yellow array is made
up of many thin ray flowers. The inner darker yellow disc is also made up
of many individual flowers.
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(Coltsfoot - 02a)
This is a close-up of the visiting wasp who stopped by at the
"coltsfoot diner" for lunch, and was busily going from one small flower to
another. The wasp's lunch is paid for by providing pollination services.
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(Coltsfoot - 03)
The coltsfoot is a native of Europe, which was imported to the
United States to treat coughs (tussis is Latin for cough). The leaves of
the coltsfoot were used as an ingredient in herbal tobacco, which was smoked as
a cure for asthma. Coltsfoot tea, sweetened with honey, was used for colds
and asthma. Even the flower stocks of the coltsfoot were used to make
"syrup of coltsfoot", which was recommended for treating chronic bronchitis.
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(Coltsfoot - 3a)
This enlarged photo (approximately 12 times actual size) of the
coltsfoot's central disk clearly shows some of the individual flowers and
unopened buds.
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(Coltsfoot - 04)
The flowers of the coltsfoot appear long before the leaves.
The leaves (not shown here) are basal and grow upright, much like a dandelion's
leaves; but the coltsfoot's leaves are sparsely toothed and more rounded and
heart-shaped. The undersides of the leaves are white and hairy, and are
said to resemble a colt's foot, which led to the common name. These
coltsfoot are about 4 inches high, and according to the literature, they can
grow to 18 inches in height, though we have not seen them that tall.
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(Coltsfoot - 04a)
In this photo we get a good side view of the upper coltsfoot
"flower", with its "bowl" or involucre from which the ray and disc flowers
develop. Coltsfoot have only one bloom on each stem.
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(Coltsfoot - 04b)
In this enlarged photo of the coltsfoot, we can see the
developing flower stocks and the characteristic red scales on the more mature stocks.
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(Coltsfoot - 05)
Due to an extended cold period, this coltsfoot did not bloom
until the 3rd of April; but again, in our area it was the first flowering
wildflower of the year, as far as we know.
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(Coltsfoot - 06)
We found this photo to be quite interesting. Judging by
the extended disk flowers, the top coltsfoot bloom appears to be more mature,
and the ray flowers are curling downward. The ray flowers of the coltsfoot
in the lower left are curling upward, while those on the newly opened coltsfoot
to the lower right appear quite fluffy. This photo also gives us a good
view of the peeling appearance of the flower stem.
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(Coltsfoot - 06a)
This is another photo of the different stages of maturity of
the opening coltsfoot flowers.
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(Coltsfoot - 07)
These coltsfoot flowers have pushed their way up through the
gravel on the side of the road. Note that no coltsfoot leaves are present
at this time.
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(Coltsfoot - 08)
This is a close-up side view of the coltsfoot. Note that
the flower bud in the lower left of the photo appears to have already developed
as the flower stalk emerged from the ground. Also note the more fully
developed bud on the stalk in the upper center of the photo, and the vertical
striations on the flower stalks.
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(Coltsfoot - 09)
This is a close-up look at one of the composite coltsfoot
flowers, which are one inch in diameter.
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(Coltsfoot - 09a)
In this bee's eye view of the disk flowers of a coltsfoot, we
can see several that have opened. Each appears to have four petals and one stamen.
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(Coltsfoot - 10)
This is another small patch of coltsfoot that was growing on the
side of the road. The coltsfoot flower in the upper right is getting ready
to go to seed.
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(Coltsfoot - 11)
This is a closer look at the coltsfoot flower that has begun to
wither (upper right), which happens prior to going to seed. A disc flower
bloom can be see in the bottom left coltsfoot.
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(Coltsfoot - 12)
The coltsfoot flower on the upper left has formed its puffy seed
ball. We have noticed that once the seed balls form, the stem once again
seems to stand nearly upright.
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(Coltsfoot - 13)
This is a closer look at the fluffy seed ball of a coltsfoot.
(The wind was blowing when I took this photo, so I had to hold it steady with my fingers.)
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(Coltsfoot - 13a)
Unlike the fluffy seed ball of a dandelion, the coltsfoot seed
ball retains its flower parts, making it easy to identify the coltsfoot.
The coltsfoot also has a depression in the top of its seed ball.
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(Coltsfoot - 14)
The top depression in the coltsfoot seed ball is not evident in
this semi-top view.
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(Coltsfoot - 15)
We have also observed that after the first growth of coltsfoot
have begun to go to seed, a second growth of coltsfoot flowers appear which are
shorter and smaller than the first growth.
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(Coltsfoot - 16)
In this photo we get a good comparison of the size difference
between the first and second growth of coltsfoot. These second growth
coltsfoot flowers are caged in and dwarfed by the flower stems of the first
growth. There are still no discernable coltsfoot leaves.
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(Coltsfoot - 17)
Another spring has arrived, and as expected, the first wild
flowers we spotted were the coltsfoot. The only other spring growth we
spotted before the appearing of the coltsfoot, were the pussy willows,
daffodils, and green tufts of chives, but the first flower always seems to be
the coltsfoot. This is the second day of growth since the coltsfoot
sprouted from the ground.
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(Coltsfoot - 17a)
One of the interesting features of the coltsfoot are the
reddish colored scales that grow on the stem and the reddish colored sepals that
surround the yellow ray flowers. We have found that the reddish color
seems to be much more pronounced when the coltsfoot flowers just begins to open.
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(Coltsfoot - 18)
Another very interesting characteristic of the coltsfoot that
differs from other composite flowers is that the disc flowers begin to bloom
before the ray flowers completely open. With most other composite flowers
of the Aster family, the ray flowers open first. Each tiny disc flower has
five petals and one pistil. From this photo we cannot determine the number
of stamens.
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(Coltsfoot - 19)
This is another coltsfoot bloom that is not fully opened, and
already we can see one fully opened disc flower and several enlarged disc buds
that are ready to open.
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(Coltsfoot - 19a)
In this angled view of a coltsfoot bloom we can see a fully
open disc flower with enlarged buds on both sides and to the left a fully opened
ray flower.
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(Coltsfoot - 20)
Each coltsfoot bloom in this cluster is solitary and terminal.
This is also only the second day of growth.
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(Coltsfoot - 21)
On 29 Mar 2006, while taking our three mile hike to pick up our
mail, we spotted the first wildflowers of the year. As usual, they were coltsfoot.
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(Coltsfoot - 22)
As a way of introducing the beauty of another spring, the
coltsfoot have pushed their way up through the sun-warmed gravel along the side
of the road.
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(Coltsfoot - 23)
New buds are sprouting up alongside the already blooming
coltsfoot flowers.
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(Coltsfoot - 24) On 14 April 2011, we took
this and the following photos of a patch of coltsfoot, the first
blooming wildflower of the season. |
(Coltsfoot - 25) This is a closer look
at this patch of coltsfoot. |
(Coltsfoot - 26) On 3 May 2011, about
three weeks after we saw the first coltsfoot blooming, and all of the
flowers had gone to seed, the first coltsfoot leaves began to appear.
After the flowers have died out, the only way to recognize the location
of the coltsfoot is by the distinctive patches of leaves. |
(Coltsfoot - 27) This is another view of
the coltsfoot leaves. Other common names for coltsfoot are: cough-wort,
foal's foot, son-before-father and English Tobacco, which derived its
name from using the leaves as a healthier substitute for regular
tobacco. |
(Coltsfoot - 28) We saw these newly
sprouting coltsfoot in a drainage easement off the side of the road on
20 March 2012. Since the drainage easement was rebuilt a few years
earlier, we have seen the coltsfoot spreading farther and farther down
the ditch, apparently from seeds being blown or washed down the slope. |
| Wild Flowers of SHL: Photo Identification, Common Name, Scientific Name | Art and Photos |
Presented here are just a few of the countless components of God's creation.
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