Tussilago farfara

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Campanulids
Ordo: Asterales

Familia: Asteraceae
Subfamilia: Asteroideae
Tribus: Senecioneae
Subtribus: Tussilagininae
Genus: Tussilago
Species: Tussilago farfara
Name

Tussilago farfara L., Sp. Pl. 2: 865 (1753).

Protologue locality: "Habitat in Europae argillosis subtus humidis."
Typus: Herb. Linn. No. 995.10 (LINN), lectotypus designated by Rechinger, Fl. Iranica 164: 44 (1989).

Synonyms

Homotypic
Cineraria farfara (L.) Bernh., Syst. Verz. Erf.: 146 (1800).
Petasites farfara (L.) Baill., Hist. Pl. 8: 58, 309 (1882).
Heterotypic
Farfara radiata Gilib., Fl. Lit. Inch. 1: 177 (1782), opus utiq. oppr..
Tussilago alpestris Hegetschw., Fl. Schweiz: 842 (1840).
Tussilago generalis E.H.L.Krause in Sturm, Deutschl. Fl., ed. 2. 13: 99 (1905), nom. illeg..
Tussilago radiata Gilib., Fl. Lit. Inch. iii. 177 (1782).
Tussilago ruderalis Salisb., Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton: 195 (1796).
Tussilago rupestris Wall., Numer. List: n.° 2990 (1831).
Tussilago umbertina Borbás, Magyar Bot. Lapok 3: 349 (1904).
Tussilago vulgaris Hill, Brit. Herb. 446 (1756), opus utiq. oppr.
Tussilago vulgaris Lam., Fl. Franç. 2: 71 (1779).
Tussilago farfara var. spinulifolia Elias ex Sennen, Bull. Georg. Bot. 24: 242 (1914)
Tussilago farfara f. pallida Hyl., Uppsala Univ. Årsskr. 1945(7): 319 (1945).
Tussilago farfara var. duplicatolobatum Murr, Neue Uebersicht Farn- & Blütenpfl. Vorarlb. 322 (1923), nom. inval.
Tussilago farfara var. tubulosa Günther, Grab. & Wimm., Enum. Stirp. Phan. Silesia 141 (1824), nom. inval.
Tussilago farfarus Asch., Fl. Brandenburg 1: 288 (1860), orth. var.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Regional: Northern Europe
Denmark, Finland, Føroyar, Great Britain, Iceland, Ireland (Eire, Northern Ireland), Norway, Svalbard, Sweden.
Regional: Middle Europe
Austria (Österreich, Liechtentein), Belgium (Belgique, Luxembourg), Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic, Slovakia), Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland.
Regional: Southwestern Europe
Corse, France (incl. Channel Islands), Portugal, Sardegna, Spain.
Regional: Southeastern Europe
Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Romania, Sicilia (Sicily), Turkey-in-Europe, Yugoslavia (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia).
Regional: Eastern Europe
Belarus, Baltic States (Estonia, Kaliningrad, Latvia, Lithuania), Krym, Central European Russia, East European Russia, North European Russia (incl. Novaya Zemlya & Franz-Joseph Land), South European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Ukraine (incl. Moldova).
Continental: Africa
Regional: Northern Africa
Algeria, Morocco.
Continental: Asia-Temperate
Regional: Siberia
Altay, Buryatiya, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, West Siberia, Yakutiya.
Regional: Russian Far East
Primorye, Sakhalin.
Regional: Middle Asia
Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Turkmenistan, Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan.
Regional: Caucasus
North Caucasus, Transcaucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Gruziya).
Regional: Western Asia
Afghanistan, Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Iran, Lebanon-Syria (Lebanon, Syria), Turkey.
Regional: China
China South-Central, Hainan, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, China North-Central, Qinghai, China Southeast, Tibet, Xinjiang.
Continental: Asia-Tropical
Regional: Indian Subcontinent
East Himalaya, India, Nepal, Pakistan, West Himalaya.
Continental: Australasia
Regional: New Zealand
New Zealand North, New Zealand South.
Continental: Northern America
Regional: Western Canada
British Columbia.
Regional: Eastern Canada
New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Isle, Québec.
Regional: Northwestern U.S.A.
Washington.
Regional: North-Central U.S.A.
Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin.
Regional: Northeastern U.S.A.
Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia.
Regional: Southeastern U.S.A.
Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia.
Note: Grey script indicates introduced occurrences.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus II: 865. Reference page.

Additional references

Jarvis, C.E. 2007. Order out of Chaos: Linnaean Plant Names and their Types. London: Linnean Society of London in association with the Natural History Museum, ISBN 978-0-9506207-7-0, 1016 pp. Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Tussilago farfara in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Nov 11. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2018. Tussilago farfara. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Apr. 15. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Tussilago farfara. Published online. Accessed: Apr. 15 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Tussilago farfara in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Apr. 15.
Tropicos.org 2018. Tussilago farfara. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Apr. 15.
Euro+Med 2006 onwards: Tussilago farfara in Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Nov 11.
Tela Botanica (ed.) 2000 onwards: Tela Botanica. Le réseau de la botanique francophone. eFlore. Tussilago farfara. Association Tela Botanica, Montpellier, France. Accessed: 2020 Nov 11.
Hand, R., Thieme, M. & collborators 2020. Florenliste von Deutschland – Gefäßpflanzen, Version 11. Frankfurt am Main, Mai 2020, published on the internet (http://www.kp-buttler.de).

Vernacular names
azərbaycanca: Adi dəvədabanı
Boarisch: Huafbflutschen
башҡортса: Үгәй инә үләне
беларуская: Падбел
bosanski: Podbjel
català: Pota de cavall
kaszëbsczi: Pòdbiôłtk
čeština: Podběl lékařský
Cymraeg: Carn yr Ebol
dansk: Almindelig Følfod
Deutsch: Huflattich
English: Coltsfoot
Esperanto: Tusilago
español: Espatas
eesti: Paiseleht
فارسی: پای خر
suomi: Leskenlehti
Nordfriisk: Föölfet
français: Tussilage
Gaeilge: Sponc
Gàidhlig: Cluas Liath
Gaelg: Cabbag ny h-awin
hornjoserbsce: Kopytnik
magyar: Martilapu
հայերեն: տատրակ
Ido: Tusilajo
íslenska: Hóffífill
italiano: Tossilaggine comune
日本語: フキタンポポ
қазақша: Өгейшөп
перем коми: Вежьюр
kurdî: Pêcanik
коми: Вижъюр
кыргызча: Өгөй эне-өз эне
Lëtzebuergesch: Ieselsfouss
lietuvių: Ankstyvasis šalpusnis
македонски: Подбел
кырык мары: Яргавшта
эрзянь: Абажа лопа
norsk bokmål: Hestehov
Nedersaksies: Peerdehoeve
Nederlands: Klein hoefblad
norsk nynorsk: Hestehov
norsk: Hestehov
ирон: Хъумбала
polski: Podbiał pospolity
Runa Simi: T'ika pilli
română: Podbal
русский: Мать-и-мачеха обыкновенная
srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски: Podbel
slovenčina: Podbeľ liečivý
slovenščina: Navadni lapuh
српски / srpski: Подбел
svenska: Hästhov
Türkçe: Öksürük otu
удмурт: Вукуар
українська: Підбіл звичайний
walon: Pate-di-polin
中文: 款冬

Tussilago farfara, commonly known as coltsfoot,[2]: 770 [3] is a plant in the groundsel tribe in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to Europe and parts of western and central Asia. The name "tussilago" is derived from the Latin tussis, meaning cough, and ago, meaning to cast or to act on.[4][5] It has had uses in traditional medicine, but the discovery of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the plant has resulted in liver health concerns.

Tussilago farfara is the only accepted species in the genus Tussilago, although more than two dozen other species have at one time or another been considered part of this group. Most of them are now regarded as members of other genera (Chaptalia, Chevreulia, Farfugium, Homogyne, Leibnitzia, Petasites, Senecio).[1]
Foliage of Tussilago farfara

Description

Coltsfoot is a perennial herbaceous plant that spreads by seeds and rhizomes. Tussilago is often found in colonies of dozens of plants. The flowers, which superficially resemble dandelions, bear scale-leaves on the long stems in early spring. The leaves of coltsfoot, which appear after the flowers have set seed, wither and die in the early summer. The flower heads are of yellow florets with an outer row of bracts. The plant is typically 10–30 cm (3.9–11.8 in) in height. The leaves have angular teeth on their margins.[6][7]

Distribution

Coltsfoot is widespread across Europe, Asia, and North Africa, from Svalbard to Morocco to China and the Russian Far East. It is also a common plant in North and South America where it has been introduced, most likely by settlers as a medicinal item. The plant is often found in waste and disturbed places and along roadsides and paths. In some areas it is considered an invasive species.[1][8][9]
Name

The common name comes from the leaf's supposed resemblance to a colt's foot.[10] Other common names include tash plant, ass's foot, bull's foot, coughwort (Old English),[11] farfara, foal's foot, foalswort, and horse foot. Sometimes it is confused with Petasites frigidus, or western coltsfoot.

It has been called bechion,[12] bechichie, or bechie, from the Ancient Greek word for "cough".[13] Also ungula caballina ("horse hoof"), pes pulli ("foal's foot"),[12] and chamæleuce.[14]
Uses

Coltsfoot has been used in herbal medicine[12] and has been consumed as a food product with some confectionery products, such as Coltsfoot Rock. Tussilago farfara leaves have been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally (as tea or syrup) or externally (directly applied) for treatment of disorders of the respiratory tract, skin, locomotor system, viral infections, flu, colds, fever, rheumatism and gout.[15] An extract of the fresh leaves has also been used to make cough drops and hard candy.[10]

Coltsfoot is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Gothic and small angle shades. It is also visited by honeybees, providing pollen and nectar.
Toxicity

Tussilago farfara contains tumorigenic pyrrolizidine alkaloids.[16] Senecionine and senkirkine, present in coltsfoot, have the highest mutagenetic activity of any pyrrolozidine alkaloid, tested using Drosophila melanogaster to produce a comparative genotoxicity test.[17][18]

Two cases of supposed liver damage (and death) due to coltsfoot tea have been shown to actually be the result of mistaken identity. In one, coltsfoot tea causing severe liver problems in an infant was actually the result of Adenostyles alliariae (alpendost).[19] In another case, an infant developed liver disease and died because the mother drank tea originally believed to contain coltsfoot during her pregnancy, but which was later shown to be Petasites hybridus (butterbur) or a similar species.[20][21] In one 27-year-old male, ingesting a multicomponent herbal supplement that included coltsfoot may have caused him to develop non-lethal deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.[22]

In response, the German government banned the sale of coltsfoot. Clonal plants of coltsfoot free of pyrrolizidine alkaloids were then developed in Austria and Germany.[23] This has resulted in the development of the registered variety Tussilago farfara 'Wien', which has no detectable levels of these alkaloids.[24]
See also

List of herbs with known adverse effects

References

Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist Archived 2014-11-06 at archive.today
Stace, C. A. (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (Third ed.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521707725.
USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Tussilago farfara". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
Capasso, Francesco (2011). "Capitolo M12: Droghe obsolete e/o poco studiate". Farmacognosia: Botanica, chimica e farmacologia delle piante medicinali (in Italian) (Seconda edizione ed.). Springer Milan. p. 428. doi:10.1007/978-88-470-1652-1_30. ISBN 978-88-470-1652-1. "Tussilago, dal latino tussis = tosse e ago = scaccio."
Booth, David (1835). An analytical dictionary of the English language. James Cochrane and Co. p. 312. "Tussilago, from the Latin tussis, a cough, and ago, to act upon, to cure; from its reputed virtues."
Theodore M. Barkley (2006). "Tussilago Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 865. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 372. 1754". Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, Part 7: Asteraceae, Part 2. Flora of North America. Vol. 20. Oxford University Press. p. 635. ISBN 9780195305647.
Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012 Webb's An Irish Flora. Cork University PressISBN 978-185918-4783
Flora of China Vol. 20-21 Page 461 款冬 kuan dong Tussilago farfara Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 865. 1753.
Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Tussilago includes photos and distribution maps
Niering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p. 410. ISBN 0-394-50432-1.
Coulombe Jr., Roger A. (2003). "Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Foods". In Taylor, Steve L. (ed.). Advances in Food and Nutrition Research. Vol. 45. Academic Press. p. 76. ISBN 0-12-016445-0.
First Foot: The Medieval Garden Enclosed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Joannes de Vigo. Works of Chirurgery, 1543.
Thomas Cooper, Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et Britannicae (1584).
Sylvia Vogl, Paolo Picker, Judit Mihaly-Bison, Nanang Fakhrudin, Atanas G. Atanasov, Elke H. Heiss, Christoph Wawrosch, Gottfried Reznicek, Verena M. Dirsch, Johannes Saukel & Brigitte Koppa (2013). "Ethnopharmacological in vitro studies on Austria's folk medicine – an unexplored lore in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of 71 Austrian traditional herbal drugs". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 149 (3): 750–771. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2013.06.007. PMC 3791396. PMID 23770053.
Fu, P.P., Yang, Y.C., Xia, Q., Chou, M.C., Cui, Y.Y., Lin G., "Pyrrolizidine alkaloids-tumorigenic components in Chinese herbal medicines and dietary supplements", Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, Vol. 10, No. 4, 2002, pp. 198-211 [1]
Röder, E., "Medicinal plants in Europe containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids", Pharmazie, 1995, pp83-98. Reprinted on Henriette's Herbal website.[2]
Frei, H.J., Luethy, J., Brauchli, L., Zweifel, U., Wuergler, F.E., & Schlatter, C., Chem. Biol. Interact., 83: 1, 1992
Sperl, W., Stuppner, H., Gassner, I.; "Reversible hepatic veno-occlusive disease in an infant after consumption of pyrrolizidine-containing herbal tea." Eur. J. Pediatr. 1995;154:112–6.
Roulet, M., Laurini, R., Rivier, L., Calame, A.; "Hepatic veno-occlusive disease in newborn infant of a woman drinking herbal tea." J Pediatrics. 1988;112:433–6.
Frohne D, Pfänder HJ. Poisonous Plants: A Handbook for Doctors, Pharmacists, Toxicologists, Biologists and Veterinarians. Timber Press, 2005.
Freshour JE, Odle B, Rikhye S, Stewart DW. Coltsfoot as a potential cause of deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in a patient also consuming kava and blue vervain. J Diet Suppl. 2012;9(3):149-54. doi: 10.3109/19390211.2012.708391.
Wawrosch, Ch.; Kopp, B.; Wiederfield, H.; "Permanent monitoring of pyrrolizidine alkaloid content in micropropagated Tussilago farfara L. : A tool to fulfil statutory demands for the quality of coltsfoot in Austria and Germany", Acta horticulturae, 2000, no. 530, pp469-472 [3]

Wawrosh C.,"In Vitro Cultivation of Medicinal Plants" cited in Yaniv Z. and Bachrach U., Eds "Handbook of Medicinal Plants", The Hawthorne Medical Press NY Lond. 2005

Further reading

R. Schubert & G. Wagner: Botanisches Wörterbuch Ulmer, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-8252-1476-1 (in German)
H. Haeupler & Th. Muer: Bildatlas der Farn- und Blütenpflanzen Deutschlands Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart, 2000. ISBN 3-8001-3364-4. (in German)
Gerhard Madaus: Lehrbuch der biologischen Heilmittel Bd 1. Heilpflanzen. G. Thieme, Leipzig 1938, Olms, Hildesheim 1979. ISBN 3-487-05890-1 (in German)
Guide des plantes sauvages comestibles et toxiques, les guides du naturaliste, François Couplan et Eva Stinner ISBN 2-603-00952-4 (in French)
Кирпичников М. Э. Семейство сложноцветные, или астровые (Asteraceae, или Compositae) // Жизнь растений. В 6-ти т. / Под ред. А. Л. Тахтаджяна. — М.: Просвещение, 1981. — Т. 5. Ч. 2. Цветковые растения. — С. 462–476. — 300000 экз. (in Russian)