The son before the father

You might take this for a dandelion but it belongs to the daisy family. 

When I went down, much later than I intended,  to the small ravine which is the only place I know it grows locally the flowers were faded and folded over and  the leaves  had started to appear above the ground. It's this unusual succession that accounts for the ancient  name, Filius ante patrem, of the plant commonly called Coltsfoot ( from the hoof-shaped leaf.)

Nowadays when I can't recall the name of someone I met the previous day, such is the strange nature of memory that  the Latin binomial Tussilago farfara comes instantly to mind  when I see this plant. 
Perhaps because I learnt it in childhood (and I was that sort of child.)

Coltsfoot has been known as a cough medicine 'forever', and was recommended as such by classical and mediaeval herbalists - and before them by anonymous  wise wo/men much further back in time. It's still available as a herbal remedy today and even as 'coltsfoot rock' produced by one  single British confectioners, Stockley's Sweets in Blackburn Lancashire. Oddly enough, coltsfoot's therapeutic effect was usually achieved by smoking the dried leaves and it's still available in that form too. It was a substitute for regular tobacco with the added attraction of soothing your throat.

The soft white web that covers the leaves had its uses too, for igniting  fires or stuffing pillows - and goldfinches  use it to line their nests. As you peel it off you may even be able foresee the future...

More here
https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/coltsf88.html
https://shirleytwofeathers.com/The_Blog/encyclopediaofherbology/coltsfoot/

[The two images are not to scale]