Coltsfoot: The Plant With the Hoof-Shaped Leaves

Coltsfoot is one of the first things to flower after winter, often pushing up through bare ground before its own leaves appear.

What it is

Tussilago farfara is a perennial native to Europe and parts of Asia and North Africa, now naturalized across North America. The name comes from the leaves, which are broad and hoof-shaped, like a colt's foot. The yellow flowers arrive first and the leaves follow, which is unusual and makes it easy to identify at the wrong time of year.

Taste and smoke

Earthy and faintly sweet, mild enough to sit underneath stronger herbs without competing. The smoke is smooth.

Something worth knowing

Coltsfoot contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, a class of compounds with documented liver toxicity. This isn't folklore. Germany removed coltsfoot from its pharmacopoeia over the alkaloid content, and Germany and Austria both set legal limits on how much a coltsfoot product may contain. Low-alkaloid and alkaloid-free cultivars have been bred specifically to meet those limits.

We'd rather tell you that than not. If you gather or buy coltsfoot yourself, it's worth knowing where it came from and whether it has been tested. It is also easily confused with Petasites species in the wild, which is a good reason not to forage it casually.

What to pair it with

Lavender for a floral top note, raspberry leaf for body and an even burn.

In our blends

Coltsfoot is in Solar, with calendula, gotu kola, lemon balm, mullein, oat straw and tulsi.

Tea Tokes blends are tobacco-free and nicotine-free. 21+.