Tussilago
Coltsfoot | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Subfamily: | Asteroideae |
Tribe: | Senecioneae |
Genus: | Tussilago L. |
Species: | T. farfara
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Binomial name | |
Tussilago farfara | |
Synonyms[1] | |
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Tussilago farfara, commonly known as coltsfoot,
Tussilago farfara is the only accepted species in the genus Tussilago, although more than two dozen other species have at one time or another been considered part of this group. Most of them are now regarded as members of other genera (Chaptalia, Chevreulia, Farfugium, Homogyne, Leibnitzia, Petasites, Senecio).[1]
Description
Coltsfoot is a
Distribution
Coltsfoot is widespread across Europe, Asia, and North Africa, from Svalbard to Morocco to China and the Russian Far East. It is also a common plant in North and South America where it has been introduced, most likely by settlers as a medicinal item, or to provide early blooms for honeybees. The plant is often found in waste and disturbed places and along roadsides and paths. In some areas it is considered an invasive species.[1][8][9]
Name
The common name comes from the leaf's supposed resemblance in shape to a colt's foot.
It has been called bechion,[13] bechichie, or bechie, from the Ancient Greek word for "cough".[14] Also ungula caballina ("horse hoof"),[13] and chamæleuce.[15]
Uses
Coltsfoot has been used in herbal medicine[13] and has been consumed as a food product with some confectionery products, such as Coltsfoot Rock. Tussilago farfara leaves have been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally (as tea or syrup) or externally (directly applied) for treatment of disorders of the respiratory tract, skin, locomotor system, viral infections, flu, colds, fever, rheumatism and gout.[16] An extract of the fresh leaves has also been used to make cough drops and hard candy.[10]
Coltsfoot is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Gothic and small angle shades. It is also visited by honeybees, providing pollen and nectar.
Toxicity
Tussilago farfara contains
Two cases of supposed liver damage (and death) due to coltsfoot tea have been shown to actually be the result of mistaken identity. In one, coltsfoot tea causing severe liver problems in an infant was actually the result of Adenostyles alliariae (alpendost).[20] In another case, an infant developed liver disease and died because the mother drank tea originally believed to contain coltsfoot during her pregnancy, but which was later shown to be Petasites hybridus (butterbur) or a similar species.[21][22] In one 27-year-old male, ingesting a multicomponent herbal supplement that included coltsfoot may have caused him to develop non-lethal deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.[23]
In response, the German government banned the sale of coltsfoot. Clonal plants of coltsfoot free of pyrrolizidine alkaloids were then developed in Austria and Germany.[24] This has resulted in the development of the registered variety Tussilago farfara 'Wien', which has no detectable levels of these alkaloids.[25]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist Archived 2014-11-06 at archive.today
- ISBN 9780521707725.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Tussilago farfara". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- ISBN 978-88-470-1652-1.
Tussilago, dal latino tussis = tosse e ago = scaccio.
- ^ Booth, David (1835). An analytical dictionary of the English language. James Cochrane and Co. p. 312.
Tussilago, from the Latin tussis, a cough, and ago, to act upon, to cure; from its reputed virtues.
- ISBN 9780195305647.
- ISBN 978-185918-4783.
- ^ Flora of China, Vol. 20-21, p. 461 款冬 kuan dong Tussilago farfara Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 865. 1753..
- ^ Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Tussilago includes photos and distribution maps.
- ^ ISBN 0-394-50432-1.
- ISBN 0-71-390442-9.
- ISBN 0-12-016445-0.
- ^ a b c First Foot: The Medieval Garden Enclosed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
- ^ Joannes de Vigo. Works of Chirurgery, 1543.
- ^ Thomas Cooper, Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et Britannicae (1584).
- PMID 23770053.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Fu, P.P., Yang, Y.C., Xia, Q., Chou, M.C., Cui, Y.Y., Lin G., "Pyrrolizidine alkaloids-tumorigenic components in Chinese herbal medicines and dietary supplements", Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, Vol. 10, No. 4, 2002, pp. 198-211 [1][dead link].
- Pharmazie, 1995, pp. 83-98. Reprinted on Henriette's Herbal website.[2].
- Chem. Biol. Interact., 83: 1, 1992.
- Eur. J. Pediatr.1995;154:112–6.
- ^ Roulet, M., Laurini, R., Rivier, L., Calame, A.; "Hepatic veno-occlusive disease in newborn infant of a woman drinking herbal tea." J Pediatrics. 1988;112:433–6.
- ^ Frohne D, Pfänder HJ. Poisonous Plants: A Handbook for Doctors, Pharmacists, Toxicologists, Biologists and Veterinarians. Timber Press, 2005.
- ^ Freshour JE, Odle B, Rikhye S, Stewart DW. Coltsfoot as a potential cause of deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in a patient also consuming kava and blue vervain. J Diet Suppl. 2012;9(3):149-54. doi: 10.3109/19390211.2012.708391.
- ^ Wawrosch, Ch.; Kopp, B.; Wiederfield, H.; "Permanent monitoring of pyrrolizidine alkaloid content in micropropagated Tussilago farfara L. : A tool to fulfil statutory demands for the quality of coltsfoot in Austria and Germany", Acta horticulturae, 2000, no. 530, pp. 469-472 [3].
- ^ Wawrosh C.,"In Vitro Cultivation of Medicinal Plants" cited in Yaniv Z. and Bachrach U., Eds "Handbook of Medicinal Plants", The Hawthorne Medical Press NY Lond. 2005.
Further reading
- R. Schubert & G. Wagner: Botanisches Wörterbuch Ulmer, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-8252-1476-1(in German)
- H. Haeupler & Th. Muer: Bildatlas der Farn- und Blütenpflanzen Deutschlands Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart, 2000. ISBN 3-8001-3364-4. (in German)
- Gerhard Madaus: Lehrbuch der biologischen Heilmittel Bd 1. Heilpflanzen. G. Thieme, Leipzig 1938, Olms, Hildesheim 1979. ISBN 3-487-05890-1(in German)
- Guide des plantes sauvages comestibles et toxiques, les guides du naturaliste, François Couplan et Eva Stinner ISBN 2-603-00952-4(in French)
- Кирпичников М. Э. Семейство сложноцветные, или астровые (Asteraceae, или Compositae) // Жизнь растений. В 6-ти т. / Под ред. А. Л. Тахтаджяна. — М.: Просвещение, 1981. — Т. 5. Ч. 2. Цветковые растения. — С. 462–476. — 300000 экз. (in Russian)