TUSSILAGO, COLT'S FOOT, in botany: A genus of plants belonging to the class of syngensia, and order of polygamia superflua; and in the natural system ranging under the 49th order, Composita. The receptacle is naked; the pappus simple; the scales of the calyx equal, of the same height as the disk, and somewhat membranaceous. There are 12 species; three of which are indigenous to Britain, the farfara, hybrida, and petasites.
The farfara, or common colt's foot, grows plentifully on the banks of rivulets, or in moist and clayey soils, in England and Scotland.—The leaves are smoked in the manner of tobacco, or a syrup or decoction of them and the flowers stand recommended in coughs and other disorders of the breast and lungs. It seems now to be almost entirely rejected. The downy substance under the leaves, boiled in a lixivium with a little salt-petre, makes excellent tinder. The petasites, or common butter-bur, is frequent in wet meadows and by the sides of rivers. Its leaves are the largest of any plant in Great Britain, and in heavy rains afford a seasonable shelter to poultry and other small animals. The root dug up in the spring is retinous and aromatic. A drachm of it in a dose has been sometimes given as a sudorific and alexipharmic; but as it possesses those virtues but in a small degree, it has lost its reputation in the shops.