I visited my property in Floyd County last week to take care of a number of things and, while there, took pictures of plants and flowers that were unfamiliar to me. Fred First, the resident botanical expert in Floyd, identified them for me. Rather than combine all of the pictures into one post, I’m going to devote one post for each picture, because I’m adding interesting information about the plants that I’ve gleaned from the world’s largest library – the Internet.

First up is Colt’s Foot (tussilago farfara):

This plant is a native of Great Britain and has been introduced to this country. According to the Arkive website, “Colt’s foot is one of the earliest flowers each spring. The alternative name ‘son-before-father’ refers to the fact that the bright yellow flowers held on purplish woolly shoots are often present before the leaves. The large leaves with their thick felt-covered undersides occur in rosettes. They are similar in shape to animal hooves, hence the names colt’s or foal’s-foot. The scientific name Tussilago derives from the latin for ‘cough’ (Tussis), 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. … This plant has been put to a wide range of uses through the years. The leaves can be incorporated into salads, cooked and used to make tea. The felt from the leaves has been used as a stuffing agent and dried for use as tinder. Colt’s-foot is still available in health-food outlets as a treatment for coughs and other chest problems. The plant must be boiled before being ingested as it contains substances that can be toxic to the liver.”

The Botanical.com website has a great deal of information on the plant, should you be interested in reading it.