Coltsfoot

Coltsfoot is a low perennial of the daisy family, five to fifteen centimetres tall, that spreads by rhizomes and often forms colonies on waste ground, roadsides and other disturbed soil. It is the only accepted species in its genus. Its yellow, dandelion-like flower heads rise on scaly stalks in early spring and turn into fluffy seed heads before any leaf appears; the broad, toothed leaves, downy beneath, come afterwards and wither by early summer. It belongs to Europe, Asia and North Africa and has been introduced to the Americas. The common name likens the leaf to a colt's hoof, and the genus name comes from the Latin for cough, a sign of the plant's long medicinal standing: Greek and Roman physicians used it, its flower was painted on doorposts in medieval Europe as an apothecary's sign, and in 1903 Northcote found it still given for coughs. That standing has faded since the discovery of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in it raised concerns for the liver. In parts of England witches were said to put it in love potions; its seeds drifting on windless air foretold rain, and to the Victorians the flower promised that justice would be done. In magic it is added to love sachets and to spells for peace and tranquillity, and three flowers worn in a sachet are said to strengthen psychic sight during divination.