Coltsfoot is one of the first wildflowers to be seen during the spring season in the Mount Rainier area. This plant is marked by its single, stout flowering stem, topped with a large ball of composite white flowers. The stem can be 16 inches (40 cm) tall with short, clasping leaves. Large, toothed lobed leaves with wooly undersides also emerge directly from the rootstock on short stalks. Common in wet areas, particularly along streams and roads.
Petasites frigidus (Arctic butterbur or Arctic sweet coltsfoot) is a species of Petasites native to Arctic to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in northern Europe, northern Asia and northern North America. It is a herbaceous perennial plant producing flowering stems in early spring, and large leaves through the summer. The upright flowering stems are 10–20 cm tall, and bear only 5-12 inflorescences, yellowish-white to pink in colour. The leaves are rounded, 15–20 cm broad, with a deeply cleft base and shallowly lobed margin, and rise directly from the underground rootstock. The underside of the leaves is covered with matted, woolly fuzz. It grows in moist shaded ground, preferring stream banks and seeping ground of cut-banks.
Flower Family: Sunflower
Scientific Name: Petasites frigidus
Usual Color: White