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Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) ID'd

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posted 13 years ago

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Hi all, in the last couple years this weed has become very invasive. I had next to none a couple years age. Looking for help identifying it and help on how to get rid of it. thanks

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Cj Sloane

pollinator

Posts: 3738

Location: Vermont, off grid for 24 years!

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posted 13 years ago

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Looks a little like wild cucumber. What's your location?

My project thread
Agriculture collects solar energy two-dimensionally; but silviculture collects it three dimensionally.

Kota Dubois

Posts: 171

posted 13 years ago

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It is Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara). It is an alien invasive in north america. I'm sure there must be a thread somewhere here on the permies forum, check for it.

That being said, it is not the end of the world. It is a pioneer species, doing very well in gravelly and sandy soil and will take shade quite well. It is a medicinal plant, a dynamic accumulator, and produces a large quantity of biomass (chop and drop). It is one of the earliest spring bloomers thus producing nectar for the pollinators. Dead heading the flowers before they go to seed will slow down its spread, but as more transition plants get established it will abate on its own.

I've also found that grasshoppers will select it over almost any other plant, and that it does seem susceptible to powdery mildew.

We cannot change the waves of expansion and contraction, as their scale is beyond human control, but we can learn to surf. Nicole Foss @ The Automatic Earth

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posted 13 years ago

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Thanks. my location is southwesthern Ontario. Yes, the lot is sand/gravel with lots of clay and white cedar. I want to get rid of it has it's taking over where the cedar have been cut down. Besides cutting before it goes to seed, any other advice in stopping it?

thanks again

April Boughton

Posts: 6

Location: Southeast Missouri

posted 13 years ago

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It's a very good medicinal plant for bronchitis, asthma, etc. I grow it on purpose!

Cj Sloane

pollinator

Posts: 3738

Location: Vermont, off grid for 24 years!

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posted 13 years ago

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Well, thanks for that ID Kota!
We have that growing all over the place and I just assumed they were dandelions.
I was surprised at wikipedie's image:

My project thread
Agriculture collects solar energy two-dimensionally; but silviculture collects it three dimensionally.

David Bates

Posts: 79

Location: Mountain Grove, Ontario, Canada

posted 13 years ago

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Colt's Foot has two "seasons" the Wiki-picture shows what it looks like in the Spring, the picture you took shows the Summer and Fall look. The leaves and the flowers don't hang around at the same time.

If you have a great deal of it, gather it. Then dry it and shred it. Sell it to people to smoke. It's a fantastic way to clear up your lungs.

At our Swamp I usually make Birch stick rings around the yellow flowers when I spot them in the Spring. That makes finding the leaves much easier in the Fall, when I look for it.

much of what my neighbours consider to be good I consider to be bad

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posted 13 years ago

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smoke the flowers or the leaves?

David Bates

Posts: 79

Location: Mountain Grove, Ontario, Canada

posted 13 years ago

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castlerock McCoy wrote:smoke the flowers or the leaves?

Smoke the leaves. If you don't like to smoke you can also make a tea out of two or three dried leaves. Don't drink too much the first time, just a sip (of course). You'll see that it sets you up with a nice productive cough. A glass of water helps too.

I smoke about a bazillion cigarettes a day and when I smoke Colt's Foot (named for the shape of the leaf) it clears out my lungs pretty well. It is good medicine.

much of what my neighbours consider to be good I consider to be bad

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posted 13 years ago

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thanks, i don't smoke, but most of my friends do, maybe i will dry some and introduce it to them

David Bates

Posts: 79

Location: Mountain Grove, Ontario, Canada

posted 13 years ago

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It's almost-not-there-mellow when you smoke it. As with anything, try a little, tiny bit first and wait a while. Some people may have allergies.

much of what my neighbours consider to be good I consider to be bad

Kota Dubois

Posts: 171

posted 13 years ago

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castlerock McCoy wrote: Thanks. my location is southwesthern Ontario. Yes, the lot is sand/gravel with lots of clay and white cedar. I want to get rid of it has it's taking over where the cedar have been cut down. Besides cutting before it goes to seed, any other advice in stopping it?

thanks again

Coltsfoot spreads by stolons just under the surface and are fairly easy to pull. But thats a real catch-22 because that disturbs the soil and that's what they like. They never grow higher than 8" tall and if you plant something that is taller and more deeply rooted, the coltsfoot will not compete directly with them and will actually form a living mulch layer under them.

We cannot change the waves of expansion and contraction, as their scale is beyond human control, but we can learn to surf. Nicole Foss @ The Automatic Earth

David Bates

Posts: 79

Location: Mountain Grove, Ontario, Canada

posted 13 years ago

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I like that, "living mulch layer". Colt's foot, in it's natural habitat is hidden under lots of other weeds. It's hard to find until the taller thing die away in the Fall, which is why I mark it with Birch sticks in the Spring, when you can see the flowers.

much of what my neighbours consider to be good I consider to be bad

Travis Philp

gardener

Posts: 965

Location: ZONE 5a Lindsay Ontario Canada

posted 13 years ago

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Castlerock, what are you planning on planting in this area?

http://www.greenshireecofarms.com
Zone 5a in Central Ontario, Canada

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