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Petasites albus

Common name:	Butterbur	Family:	Compositae
Author:	(L.)Gaertn.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:	Tussilago alba (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	N. and C. Europe. Naturalized in Britain.
Habitat:	Waste ground, roadsides, plantations and woods[17], often in damp soils[1].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Wit Hoefblad [D],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	albus = white
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m by 1m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen in May. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Meadow, Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Stem.

The small fleshy petioles (leaf stems) are very palatable when cooked and eaten like asparagus[7].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antitussive Emmenagogue Homeopathy Hypnotic Sedative Vulnerary.

The root is emmenagogue, hypnotic, sedative and vulnerary[7, 172]. The ground or finely chopped rhizome has a healing effect when applied to slow-healing or weak ulcers, or to suppurating wounds[7].
An infusion of the leaves is a specific remedy for coughs[7].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the roots[7]. It is used in the treatment of wounds, ulcers etc[7].

Other Uses

Ground cover.

A good ground cover for the wilder areas of the garden[200]. It is too invasive to be used in small gardens and is only suitable for covering large areas[208].
The leaves were at one time used by peasants as a head covering[7].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1], but prefers a deep fertile humus-rich soil that is permanently moist but not stagnant, succeeding in shade, semi-shade or full sun[200]. Prefers partial shade[31]. Prefers a heavy soil[208]. Plants can be grown in quite coarse grass, which can be cut annually in the autumn[233].
A very invasive plant, too rampant for anything other than the wild garden[187, 200].
Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe or in early spring. Only just cover the seed and do not allow the compost to dry out. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Division succeeds at almost any time of the year. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[31] Brown. Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Petasites+albus
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.