Botanical atlas

Coltsfoot

Tussilago farfara

Coltsfoot's very name tells its story. Tussilago comes from the Latin tussis, meaning cough, and agere, to drive away, and for well over two thousand years European herbalists reached for this cheerful yellow flower whenever a cough or a scratchy throat needed calming. Physicians from ancient Greece through the medieval herbals of Culpeper and Gerard praised it, and country folk dried the leaves to smoke for chest complaints, a practice that lingered in some rural corners of Britain and France well into the last century. So closely was coltsfoot tied to the healer's trade that its flower became a kind of trademark, painted above apothecary doors as a sign of the herbalist within.

In tradition.

Coltsfoot's very name tells its story. Tussilago comes from the Latin tussis, meaning cough, and agere, to drive away, and for well over two thousand years European herbalists reached for this cheerful yellow flower whenever a cough or a scratchy throat needed calming. Physicians from ancient Greece through the medieval herbals of Culpeper and Gerard praised it, and country folk dried the leaves to smoke for chest complaints, a practice that lingered in some rural corners of Britain and France well into the last century. So closely was coltsfoot tied to the healer's trade that its flower became a kind of trademark, painted above apothecary doors as a sign of the herbalist within.

Safety.

Tussilago farfara naturally contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), compounds well documented to cause liver damage and considered potentially carcinogenic with repeated or prolonged internal use. Because of this, coltsfoot has been restricted or banned for internal use in several countries, and case reports have linked coltsfoot tea consumed during pregnancy to serious, sometimes fatal, liver injury in nursing infants. It should never be taken internally by children, during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or by anyone without professional guidance and clear confirmation that a product is certified PA-free, and even then only under the direction of a qualified herbalist or healthcare provider who can weigh the real risks involved.