common butterbur, Petasites hybridus, April-May, 15-150cm high

I hadn’t realized until I was reading an article the other day that this was a member of the same family as coltsfoot apparently, there’s a vague resemblance though maybe.

This was growing in some quantity up near the Grand Muveran when I was over there in early May. I was surprised to see it growing out of these stones really, the ground below must be fairly damp and rich to support the plant. It’s been known as Bog rhubarb and Pestilence wort, the latter as like so many other plants it was wrongly thought to be a cure for bubonic plague which speaks to what a desperate time that was.

see also : White Butterbur on SwissMountainLeader

Tags: Alpine Flowers | common butterbur | Petasites hybridus