Beth’s Natural Way – Coltsfoot

Truxton, NY
Phone/Fax: 607-842-6863
E-mail: bethsnaturalway@yahoo.com

One of the first plants to show itself in the spring is the coltsfoot.  But the leaves are not the first part to show itself, it is the yellow flower along the sides of roads and ditches.  The name of this plant came by how the leaves look, just like a colts foot.  One time when I was taking a group of school children on an herbal walk, one of the students was having problems keeping up due to shortness of breathe (asthma) so I had him take a few coltsfoot leaves and rub between his hands until he got a green liquid coming out of the leaves.  Then I had him just hold the leaves for the rest of the walk, rubbing for more juice as he felt the need.  The shortness of breath went away.

FOLK NAMES:  British tobacco, bull’s foot, butterbur, coughwort,  horse foot.

LATIN NAME:  Tussilago farfara.

ELEMENT:  Water.

POWERS:  Love and visions

MEDICINAL PARTS:  Flowers and leaves.

CONSTITUTES:  Mucilages, tannins, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, triterpenes, and flavonoids.

PROPERTIES:  Bittersweet, astringent, expectorant.

MAGICAL USES:  Used in sachets for love.  Used in spells for peace and tranquility.  The smoking of the leaves gives visions.

INTERNAL USES:  Helps to reduce constriction anywhere in the body but strongly in the lungs.  Helps to dissolve excess mucus, bronchitis, laryngitis, asthma, severe coughing, and activates the immune system.

EXTERNAL USES:  Rub the fresh leaves between the palms to open bronchial tubes.  Rub on the bottom of the feet for a more relaxed sleep.

HARVEST:  Pick the flowers on a sunny day when in bloom in the spring.  The leaves can be picked any time till they start to molt in the Fall.

USE AS:  Tea, extract, rub or smoke.

PRECAUTIONS:  The blossoms should be used sparingly.  Pregnant women should avoid all parts.

Vibrantly,
Beth Hill of Beth’s Natural Way!

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