Coltsfoot is the flower bud of Coltsfoot of the Asteraceae family. It has a pungent and warm nature and has the functions of moistening the lungs and lowering qi, resolving phlegm and relieving coughs.
Perennial herb, 10 to 25 cm tall. The basal leaves are broadly heart-shaped or ovate, 7 to 15 cm long and 8 to 10 cm wide, with blunt apex and wavy and sparsely serrated edges, often with reddish apex. ?The center of the base is round, thick, smooth, dark green on the upper side, and densely covered with white hairs on the lower side; palmate network veins, with 5 to 9 main veins; the petiole is 8 to 20 cm long, semicircular; the veins near the base are The petioles are reddish and hairy. The flower stem is 5 to 10 cm long, hairy, with more than 10 leaflets, alternate, and the leaves are oblong to triangular. ?The inflorescence is terminal; the involucre has 1 to 2 layers of bracts, and the bracts are 20 to 30, thin, oval, and hairy; the tongue-shaped flowers are round in the periphery, bright yellow, unisexual, and the apex of the corolla is concave. Pistil 1, ovary inferior, style long, stigma 2-lobed; tubular flowers bisexual, apex 5-lobed, lobes lanceolate, stamens 5, anthers united, pistil 1, style slender, stigma globose. ?Achenes are oblong, with longitudinal ribs and light yellow pappus. ?The flowering period is from February to March. Fruiting period is April. ?