Petasites frigidus var. palmatus
Sweet Coltsfoot

Family: Asteraceae [Compositae](Sunflower family)

Photo taken near Ruby Creek, Swauk Pass, wet wooded area near stream (1 to 5 meters away)

Flowers:

heads disciform or weakly radiate, in raceme-like to more or less flat-topped clusters; involucure a single series of herbaceous bracts, sometimes with a few bracteoles at base; receptacle flat, naked; dioecious, pistillate flowers with a cylindric corolla, perfect flowers tubular, 3.5 to 5 mm, with a 5 cleft limb, with or without rays

Leaves:

large basal leaves and bractate stems; basal leaves palmately lobed and veined; tending to be broader than long, 10 to 40 cm wide; coarsely toothed; more or less glabrous on the the upper leaf surface, sometimes loosely tomentose below

Plant:

perennial; 20 to 60 cm tall; stems erect, appearing before the leaves in spring

Habitat:

meadows, swampy places, and moist woods

Distribution of species:

inland and west Cascades

Distribution of genus:

15 species: North America, Eurasia