Scientific name: Petasites hybridus (L.) P. Gaertn., B. Mey. & Scherb.
Common name: Butterbur
Description
Habit: Perennial, leaf stalks to 1.5 m high, flowering stems to 30 cm high in flower.
Stems: Flowering stems erect with scale-like leaves.
Leaves: Round, cordate, basal and up to 90 cm across with the lobes at the base of the leaf somewhat convergent.
Flowers: Appearing before the leaves; flower-heads numerous and in a dense raceme; involucral bracts oblong, blunt and linear, in a single row with a few shorter outer ones; florets dull purple, all tubular and not scented.
Fruits: An achene, pappus white and silky, of unbranched hairs.
Habitat: Roadsides and damp waste places.
Distribution: Very local.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No