It is a herbaceousperennial 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.[4][5][6]
Petasites frigidus var. palmatus fruit and leaves
While there is some disagreement, some sources identify five varieties of P. frigidus:
Petasites frigidus var. frigidus
Petasites frigidus var. nivalis, sometimes referred to as P. nivalis or P. hyperboreus. This variety is common at subalpine and alpine elevations.[7]
Petasites frigidus var. palmatus, sometimes referred to as P. palmatus, palmate coltsfoot, or western coltsfoot; mâl-ē-mē’ (Konkow language);[8] or tä-tä-tē’;[9]pē’-wē is the root.[10]
Petasites frigidus var. sagittatus, arrowleaf sweet coltsfoot.
The leaf stalks and flower stems (with flowers) are edible,[12] and can be used as a vegetable dish. A salt-substitute can also be made by drying and then burning the leaves. This black, powdery substance will provide a salty taste. However, given the high likelihood of the presence of toxic unsaturated, diesterpyrrolizidine alkaloids in this species, consumption should be very limited.[13]
^ abc"Petasites frigidus". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
^Sullivan, Steven. K. (2015). "Petasites frigidus". Wildflower Search. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
^Klinkenberg, Brian, ed. (2014). "Petasites frigidus". E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
^Giblin, David, ed. (2015). "Petasites frigidus". WTU Herbarium Image Collection. Burke Museum, University of Washington. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
^"Petasites frigidus". Jepson eFlora: Taxon page. Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley. 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
^Mathews, Daniel. Cascade-Olympic Natural History. Raven Editions, 1999, p. 186, ISBN978-0-9620782-0-0