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Tussilago farfara

Colt's-foot · Coltsfoot

Family AsteraceaeGenus Tussilago

Yellow flower heads with many narrow rays on scaly stems, pushing up through brown leaf litter before any leaves show.
FlowerUoaei1CC BY-SA 4.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
perennialPlants of the World Online
Habit
Perennial, Forb/herbPLANTS Database
Flower
YellowFlora of China
Native range
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Altay, Austria, Baltic States and elsewhereGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; Flora of China — Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven and Hong Deyuan (eds.); GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • Tussilago comes from the Latin tussis, cough. The flowers come in early spring, and the leaves appear only after the flowers have set seed. It contains toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Wikipedia: Tussilago
  • The only species in its genus. Coltsfoot is a 16th-century translation of the medieval Latin pes pulli, foal's foot, for the shape of the leaf. Wikipedia: Tussilago

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 24, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Cold moist stratification

    Temperature: 40°F 4°C

Germination happens during step 1, in 12 days.

100% germination in 7–12 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Tussilago p. 226Public domain
Show the original text
Tussilago (Asteraceae). T. farfara was unusual for a composite in that seed DS 6 m at 70 or 40 was totally dead. The seed matures in early May and is quickly wind born. In this it resembles Populus and Salix which are also notoriously intolerant of DS. Fresh seed germ. 70(100% in 2-3d) and 40(100% in 7-12 d).
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Tussilago p. 226. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around April 2, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 3 days to germinate.

100% germination in 2–3 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Tussilago p. 226Public domain
Show the original text
Tussilago (Asteraceae). T. farfara was unusual for a composite in that seed DS 6 m at 70 or 40 was totally dead. The seed matures in early May and is quickly wind born. In this it resembles Populus and Salix which are also notoriously intolerant of DS. Fresh seed germ. 70(100% in 2-3d) and 40(100% in 7-12 d).
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Tussilago p. 226. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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