Tussilago

Coltsfoot
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Senecioneae
Genus: Tussilago
L.
Species:
T. farfara
Binomial name
Tussilago farfara
Synonyms[1]
  • Farfara Gilib.
  • Farfara radiata Gilib.
  • Tussilago alpestris Hegetschw.
  • Cineraria farfara (L.) Bernh.
  • Tussilago umbertina Borbás

Tussilago farfara, commonly known as coltsfoot,[2]: 770 [3] is a plant in the tribe Senecioneae in the 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
  1. ^ a b Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist Archived 2014-11-06 at archive.today
  2. ^ Stace, C. A. (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (Third ed.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521707725.
  3. ^ NRCS. "Tussilago farfara". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.