Petasites frigidus explained

Petasites frigidus, the Arctic sweet coltsfoot or Arctic butterbur, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Arctic to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in northern Europe, northern Asia and northern North America.^{[1] [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.^{[3] [4] [5]}

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.^[6]
• Petasites frigidus var. palmatus, sometimes referred to as P. palmatus, palmate coltsfoot, or western coltsfoot; mâl-ē-mē’ (Konkow language);^[7] or tä-tä-tē’;^[8] pē’-wē is the root.^[9]
• Petasites frigidus var. sagittatus, arrowleaf sweet coltsfoot.
• Petasites frigidus var. vitifolius^{[10] [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. However, given the high likelihood of the presence of toxic unsaturated, diester pyrrolizidine alkaloids in this species, consumption should be very limited.^[11]

References

• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Petasites frigidus

Notes and References

1. Web site: Petasites frigidus . Sullivan . Steven. K. . 2015 . Wildflower Search . 2016-04-09 .
2. Web site: Petasites frigidus . 2015 . PLANTS Database . United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service . 2016-04-09.
3. Web site: Petasites frigidus . Klinkenberg . Brian . 2014 . 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 . 2016-04-09.
4. Web site: Petasites frigidus . Giblin . David . 2015 . WTU Herbarium Image Collection . Burke Museum, University of Washington . 2016-04-09.
5. Web site: Petasites frigidus . 2015 . Jepson eFlora: Taxon page . Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley . 2016-04-09.
6. Mathews, Daniel. Cascade-Olympic Natural History. Raven Editions, 1999, p. 186,
7. Book: Chesnut . Victor King . Victor King Chesnut . Plants used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California. 24 August 2012. 1902. Government Printing Office. 406.
8. Chesnut, p. 408
9. Chesnut, p. 407
10. Book: Pojar, Jim . Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast . Lone Pine Publishing . Edmonton . 2004 . 9781551055305.
11. Aydın . AA . Zerbes . V . Parlar. H. Letzel. T. 2013 . The medical plant butterbur (Petasites): analytical and physiological (re)view. . J Pharm Biomed Anal . 75 . 220–9 . 10.1016/j.jpba.2012.11.028 . 23277154 .