Petasites frigidus

Petasites frigidus
Arctic sweet coltsfoot
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Tribe:	Senecioneae
Genus:	Petasites
Species:	P. frigidus
Binomial name
Petasites frigidus (L.) Fr.
Synonyms[1]
Nardosmia angulosa Kuprian. Nardosmia angulosa Cass. Nardosmia arctica (A.E.Porsild) Á.Löve & D.Löve Nardosmia frigida (L.) Hook. Nardosmia nivalis (B.D.Greene) Jurtzev Nardosmia palmata (Aiton) Hook. Nardosmia sagittata (Banks ex Pursh) Hook. Nardosmia vitifolia (Greene) Á.Löve & D.Löve* P. alaskanus Rydb. Petasites arcticus A.E.Porsild Petasites corymbosus (R.Br.) Rydb. Petasites dentata Blank. Petasites gracilis Britton Petasites hookerianus (Nutt.) Rydb. Petasites hyperboreus Rydb. Petasites nivalis Greene Petasites palmatus (Aiton) A.Gray Petasites sagittatus (Banks ex Pursh) A.Gray Petasites speciosus (Nutt.) Piper Petasites trigonophylla Greene Petasites × vitifolius Greene Petasites warrenii H.St.John Tussilago palmata Aiton Tussilago frigida L. Tussilago sagittata Pursh

Petasites frigidus, the Arctic sweet coltsfoot^[2] or Arctic butterbur, is a species of Petasites native to Arctic to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in northern Europe, northern Asia and northern North America.^[3][2]

It is a herbaceous perennial plant producing flowering stems in early spring, and large leaves through the summer. The upright flowering stems are 10–20 cm tall, and bear only 5-12 inflorescences, yellowish-white to pink in colour. The leaves are rounded, 15–20 cm broad, with a deeply cleft base and shallowly lobed margin, and rise directly from the underground rootstock. The underside of the leaves is covered with matted, woolly fuzz. It grows in moist shaded ground, preferring stream banks and seeping ground of cut-banks.^[4][5][6]

P. f. var. palmatus fruit and leaves

Illustration of Petasites frigidus

While there is some disagreement, some sources identify five varieties of P. frigidus:

• Petasites frigidus var. frigidus
• Petasites frigidus var. nivalis, sometimes referred to as P. nivalis or P. hyperboreus. This variety is common at subalpine and alpine elevations.^[7]
• Petasites frigidus var. palmatus, sometimes referred to as P. palmatus, palmate coltsfoot, or western coltsfoot; mâl-ē-mē’ (Konkow language);^[8] or tä-tä-tē’;^[9] pē’-wē is the root.^[10]
• Petasites frigidus var. sagittatus, arrowleaf sweet coltsfoot.
• Petasites frigidus var. vitifolius^[11][2]

Uses

The leaf stalks and flower stems (with flowers) are edible, and can be used as a vegetable dish. A salt-substitute can also be made by drying and then burning the leaves. This black, powdery substance will provide a salty taste.

References

1. "The Plant List".
2. "Petasites frigidus". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
3. Sullivan, Steven. K. (2015). "Petasites frigidus". Wildflower Search. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
4. Klinkenberg, Brian (Editor) (2014). "Petasites frigidus". E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
5. Giblin, David (Editor) (2015). "Petasites frigidus". WTU Herbarium Image Collection. Burke Museum, University of Washington. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
6. "Petasites frigidus". Jepson eFlora: Taxon page. Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley. 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
7. Mathews, Daniel. Cascade-Olympic Natural History. Raven Editions, 1999, p. 186, ISBN 978-0-9620782-0-0
8. Chesnut, Victor King (1902). Plants used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California. Government Printing Office. p. 406. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
9. Chesnut, p. 408
10. Chesnut, p. 407
11. Pojar, Jim (2004). Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Edmonton: Lone Pine Publishing. ISBN 9781551055305.

• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Petasites frigidus

External links

• Media related to Petasites frigidus at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Petasites frigidus at Wikispecies