Coltsfoot

Coltsfoot: Tussialgo farfara 

The warmer weather of recent days (10c on Thursday) has  worked its magic. 

Having searched in vain for the first coltsfoot flowers by the Swine Burn  three days ago, today   we came upon two or three small clumps of the cheerful yellow flowers on a south facing verge near Sandhaven Harbour. 

The botanical name of this useful plant is from the Latin  tussis ago - to drive out a cough  and reflects its medicinal properties. The plant, always one of the first to flower each spring,  was used by herbalists as a cough medicine. The leaves, which appear after the flowers, are the main form of herbal tobacco in Britain. The downy felt covering of the leaves and stems was dried and used as tinder in conjunction with a 'strike a light' before the advent of matches.