Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara): Traditional Uses & Safety

At a glance

Botanical name: Tussilago farfara
Family: Asteraceae
Part used: Leaf, Flower
Taste: Slightly bitter, mucilaginous, slightly pungent
Temperature: Warm
Moisture: Dry

On temperature, the old sources disagree: Shennong Bencao Jing (c. 200 CE) and Bencao Congxin (1757) read it as warm; Culpeper (1653) and Salmon (1710) read it as cold. The modern value was unclear and the counted sources are tied two to two, so the tie falls to the oldest first-hand written source, the Shennong Bencao Jing, and the app reads Warm. Gerard (1633) is shown but not counted on temperature, because he gives one reading for the green leaf and another for the dried leaf. On moisture, Gerard (1633), Culpeper (1653) and Salmon (1710) all read it as dry, and the modern value was unclear, so the app follows them and reads Dry.

Safety at a glance

In pregnancy

Contraindicated (PA hepatotoxicity + fetal risk)

While breastfeeding

Contraindicated during breastfeeding — PA hepatotoxicity concerns for infant.

For children

Contraindicated in infants and young children (hepatotoxicity risk); older children only with PA-free source

Cautions

Contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). Short-term use only (≤4–6 weeks/year). PA-free cultivars preferred where available. Commission E previously approved then restricted.

General contraindications

Liver disease; children under 6; pregnancy; breastfeeding; concurrent PA-containing herbs

Stewardship

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids; some cultivars are PA-reduced. Wild populations abundant but PA status demands careful sourcing. Stewardship: the historical lung herb teaches that tradition must be held in conversation with modern toxicology.

In the traditional record

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) — the genus name from the Latin tussis ago ("I dispel cough") reflects its ancient and consistent use; described by Dioscorides, Pliny, and Galen, and cultivated through the medieval period as a primary expectorant for chronic, dry, and irritated coughs.

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Educational use

The Apothecary is educational and does not constitute medical advice. Nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or managing a diagnosed condition.

On our sources

These entries draw on public-domain materia medica, most of it published before 1900, alongside a smaller number of modern reference works. Energetic qualities such as warming, cooling, drying and moistening are a traditional framework for describing how a plant behaves in the body, not a laboratory measurement. Where a period source states one, we cite it. Where none does, and for many North American herbs none exists, the value reflects modern herbal consensus rather than a historical text. When we cannot support a caution with real evidence, we say nothing rather than guess.