Petasites Species, Pyrenees Butterbur, Sweet Coltsfoot, Winter Heliotrope

An aggressive, uncontrollably spreading perennial with a deep running rootstock. I see it growing in dense stands many yards across from ...Read Morewhich it excludes other vegetation. I suspect it's as invasive in natural areas here as it is in the British Isles. It isn't something I'd ever plant.

The early spring flowers (mid-April this year) remind me of a purplish ear of corn or bottle brush, and are more interesting than beautiful. They do have some fragrance. Some have compared it to vanilla or licorice, though it isn't strong and to my nose it's more evocative of wholesale flower market (Oasis foam and floral preservative). I don't find any similarity to heliotrope.

The foliage emerges late, after flowering has finished.

Some people believe this plant has herbal uses, but it contains toxic compounds than can damage the liver or cause cancer if ingested.

It's long established in the Arnold Arboretum, Boston, MA, Z6a.

A pretty plant, and often in flower on Christmas Day here in Cornwall. However it is an invasive weed that colonizes roadsides, waste gro...Read Moreund and gardens. It smothers native plant species, and is extremely difficult to remove. The underground roots break very easily and each bit sends up a new shoot. Even weedkiller is largely ineffective.