Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)

I almost blipped the coot because I liked the black-and-white, and the droplets on his back, but I felt I needed to blip colour. I caught this coltsfoot basking in the sun at lunchtime.

I knew nothing about this plant so I looked it up:

- it's used medicinally as a cough suppressant and to treat asthma and smoker's cough
- crushed flowers may cure skin conditions
- an old name for Coltsfoot was 'Filius ante patrem' (the son before the father), because the star-like, golden flowers appear and wither before the broad, sea-green leaves are produced.
- in Paris, the Coltsfoot flowers were painted as a sign on the doorpost of an apothecarie's shop


I particularly like the little trumpet flowers that ring the centre.