Flora of Sweden: Tussilago farfara

Tussilago farfara, SE: Hästhov, DE: Huflattich, NL: Klein hoefblad,
UK: Coltsfoot, Baccy plant, Ooor-man's baccy,
Foal's-foot, Cough wort, Son-before-father


Scientific name:		Tussilago farfara L.
Swedish name:		Hästhov
German name:		Huflattich
Nederlandse naam:		Klein hoefblad
English name:		Coltsfoot, baccy plant, poor-man's baccy, foal's-foot, cough wort, son-before-father
Family:		Asteraceae, Compositae, Korgblommiga

Vilda blommor i Sverige, Flowers, Sweden, Ragunda


Life form:		Perennial species that arises from rhizomes
Stems:		Height 5–30 cm, unbranched, white-felted
Leaves:		Rosette, large, animal hooves shape, with thick felt-covered undersides
Flowers:		Yellow, closes at night and in poor weather
Flowering Period:		March-April
Fruits:		Cypsela (dry single-seeded fruit) crowned by a tuft of unbranched hairs
Habitat:		Throughout the country, Coast, pastureland, meadows, farmland, settlements

Derivation of the botanical name:
Tussilago from the latin Tussis for "cough", and hints at the widespread smoking of the dried leaves in folk-medicine to cure coughs. It is still smoked in some areas today as herbal tobacco, and the names ‘baccy plant' and ‘poor-man's-baccy' survive in some parts of Britain.
Farfara, Pliny, is a Latin name for the plant.
The name ‘son-before-father' refers to the fact that the yellow flowers held on purplish woolly shoots are often present before the leaves.
The name colt's or foal's-foot refers to the fact that the leaves are similar in shape to animal hooves.

The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.