(arctic sweet coltsfoot)
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Photo of Petasites frigidus by Jacob Frank
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Petasites frigidus is a perennial forb with a single
toothed or
lobed basal leaf and small flowering heads atop a thick stem. The thick, tall stem (10-50 cm tall) arises from much branched underground
rhizomes. Basal leaves appear apart from and after the flowering stem and are highly variable in shape — from heart-shaped (
cordate) to
deltoid to
reniform with variably
lobed or
toothed margins. Leaves are green and
glabrous above, white-hairy beneath. The stem leaves are sheathing,
lanceolate and alternate, with
entire margins. The flowering heads are in a rounded
raceme. Flowering heads are few to many, with white to purplish flowers. Fruits are a dry
achene with associated
pappus.
Petasites frigidus flowers very early in the season. The flowering stalk appears before the leaves.
This is a variable species complex, and populations can be either
dioecious or
monoecious. In
dioecious populations, flowers are often functionally either
staminate or
pistillate—they may produce both
pistils and
stamens, but typically only one is fertile. Flowers are insect pollinated and seeds are wind disseminated. Plants predominately spread vegetatively via
rhizomes, and genetic studies of populations find its genetic diversity is on par with clonal species (
Cherniawsky and Bayer 1998).
All parts of P. frigidus are edible either raw or cooked, though plants contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids and should not be consumed in large quantities. The Alutiiq and Athabascans chewed roots, of made tea of the roots for colds, coughs and tuberculosis, among other illnesses (Garibaldi 1999).
Disclaimer for Known Uses.
Petasites frigidus is a incompletely circumpolar species, occurring widely in the Northern Hemisphere, except absent from Greenland. In North America, P. frigidus ranges from Alaska into all Canadian provinces and into the northern continental US extending as far south as the mountains of Colorado and California. Petasites frigidus is common and widespread in suitable habitat throughout all areas of Alaska and also Denali.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right, depicting recent Denali data.
Petasites frigidus is a mid-elevation species that occurs at elevations from 83 m to 1533 m with an average plot elevation of 789 m. This species slightly favors north facing slopes. It prefers flat to low angled sites with an average plot slope of 8 degrees.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right. For more on how to interpret these figures, visit Understanding Data Presented.
Moist to wet sites.
