Tussilago farfara, commonly known as coltsfoot,[2]: 770 [3] is a plant in the tribe Senecioneae in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and parts of western and central Asia.

[6][7] Coltsfoot is widespread across Europe, Asia, and North Africa, from Svalbard to Morocco to China and the Russian Far East.

It is also a common plant in North and South America where it has been introduced, most likely by settlers as a medicinal item, or to provide early blooms for honeybees.

Tussilago farfara leaves have been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally (as tea or syrup) or externally (directly applied) for treatment of disorders of the respiratory tract, skin, locomotor system, viral infections, flu, colds, fever, rheumatism and gout.

[18][19] Two cases of supposed liver damage (and death) due to coltsfoot tea have been shown to actually be the result of mistaken identity.

[20] In another case, an infant developed liver disease and died because the mother drank tea originally believed to contain coltsfoot during her pregnancy, but which was later shown to be Petasites hybridus (butterbur) or a similar species.

[21][22] In one 27-year-old male, ingesting a multicomponent herbal supplement that included coltsfoot may have caused him to develop non-lethal deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.