Coltsfoot
by Susun Weed
That’s not dandelion.
Look at the flower buds
Look at the stalks
It’s Tussilago farfara, also know as coltsfoot, or child-before-the-parent (because it blooms before the leaves unfurl), a good way to make tussas (coughs) go far far away. The flowers are a wonderful way to enhance spring salads. I was taught to use only the flowers to make cough syrup or eat. Though the leaves are edible, they can be rich in problematic PAs.
Coltsfoot loves to grow in drainage ditches, along the sides of roads, in fact, in any heavily-trafficked area. What a tough cookie she is.