Petasites frigidus (L.) Fries
Sweet Coltsfoot.
Asteraceae (Compositae), daisy family.
Summa Veg. Scand. 1: 182. 1845.
Tussilago frigida L., Sp. Pl. 2: 865. 1753
Nardosmia frigida
(L.) Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. (Hooker) 1: 307. 1833
Petasites frigidus (L.) Fr. subsp. arcticus (A.E.Porsild) Cody,
Canad. Field-Natural. 108: 94.1994.
Petasites arcticus A.E.Porsild
(1943), Sargentia 4: 74. 1943.
Nardosmia arctica (A.E.Porsild)
Á.Löve & D.Löve, Bot. Not. 128: 519. 1976.
Type from
Mackenzie River delta, East Branch, CAN, see Porsild, 74. 1943.
Petasites
frigidus (L.) Fr. subsp. nivalis (Greene) Cody, Canad. Field-Natural.
108: 94. 1994.
Petasites nivalis Greene, Pittonia 2: 18. 1889.
Petasites hyperboreus Rydb., N. Amer. Fl. 34: 312. 1927.
Vegetative morphology. Plants perennial herbs; (10–)15–35 cm high; coarse with flowers in several deep pink to pale pink heads, large, more or less triangular, vegetative leaves that often develop after flowering and are rather coarsely toothed; without milky juice. Roots pallid-brown (pale). Caudex absent. Ground-level or under-ground stems horizontal, or vertical and often branched; rhizomatous, or stoloniferous; elongate (usually), or compact; 2–5 mm wide. Scales present (often with a prominent expanded base and entire, unlobed margins); 2–7 (lower scale leaves alternate, uppermost scale leaves opposite or almost so when they are present). Aerial stems erect; sparsely hairy (at the base), or densely hairy (floccose near the inflorescence). Leaves heterophyllous (lanceolate, with unlobed margins on flowering stems early season; deltoid shaped leaves with lobed margins); in a basal tuft (vegetative leaves that may develop after flowering), or distributed along the stems (on rhizomes or flowering stems); alternate; simple; existing for a single season or less. Petioles present (late season leaves), or absent (early season leaves); 0–100 mm long; winged (sometimes expanded and sheathing at the base), or unwinged (most of the length); glabrous, or hairy (sparsely); woolly (if applicable); hairs less than the diameter of the petiole. Petioles hairs appressed, or spreading; floccose; smooth. Leaf blade bases cordate (vegetative leaves), or truncate (flowering stem leaves). Blades (5–)10–70 mm long; (5–)10–70 mm wide. Blades spreading; herbaceous, or leathery (slightly); linear (flowering stem leaves), or triangular (deltoid, vegetative leaves); flat; veins pinnate. Blades adaxial surface with sessile glands, or without sessile glands; glabrous. Blades abaxial surface hairy. Blades abaxial surface hairs very dense. Blades abaxial surface hairs woolly. Blades abaxial surface hairs white, or translucent hairs; wavy; appressed. Blade margins lobed. Blade margins entire (flowering stem leaves), or dentate (occasionally on the lobes of vegetative leaves); glabrous; with teeth per cm 1–3; degree of incision 5–10 %. Leaf apices acute.
Reproductive morphology. Flowering stems present. Flowering stems with leaves; hairy. Flowering stem hairs simple; shorter than the diameter of the flowering stem; white or translucent. Inflorescence of several flowering heads; terminal, or axillary; 2.5–10 cm long; 20–70 mm wide. Capitula 8–15 mm deep. Capitula 8–12 mm wide. Pedicels subtending flowering heads; with non-glandular hairs. Involucral bracts present; number of rows 1, or 3. Outer involucral bracts blade surface flat; mostly green; lying adjacent to the flowers; linear, or lanceolate; sparsely hairy; hairs non-glandular; 6.5–7 mm high; 0.9–1.1 mm wide. Inner involucral bracts apex entire; margins at the most with narrow and scarious, less than one quarter of the bract; 6.5–7 mm high; 1–1.5 mm wide (broader than the outer bracts). With ray and disc florets. Flowers actinomorphic (disc florets), or zygomorphic (ray florets). Calyx modified to a pappus. Calyx accrescent. Pappus with a single row of hairs. Pappus yellowish, or whitish. Ray floret pappus 7–9 mm long. Disc floret pappus 8–10 mm long. Petals fused; 5; white, or red (deep red wine colour), or pink; 7.5–9 mm long. Corolla ligulate (ray florets), or tubular, or funnel-form (disc florets); 5-lobed (disc florets). Ray florets limb 8–9 mm long; 1.5–3 mm wide. Stamens 5. Anthers 2–2.4 mm long. Gynoecia inferior. Carpels syncarpous; 2. Styles 1; 10–12 mm long. Stigmas per style 2; strap-like lobes (plump lobes that are conspicuously hairy when receptive). Placentation basal. Ovules 1. Fruit sessile. Fruit with calyx persisting (as a pappus that has elongated to be 12–14 mm long); dry; cypselas (no evidence of fruit set in Arctic Island specimens at CAN); indehiscent. Seeds 1.
Chromosome information. 2n = 60, 80, 90. 60 (6x).
- Flovik (1940); Sokolovskaya and Strelkova (1941 northern Russia Kolguev,
1960); Zhukova (1956a eastern Chuk, 1965b Wrangel Island, 1980 southern Chuk,
1982 north eastern Asia); Mosquin and Hayley (1966 northern Canada); Knaben and
Engelskjøn (1967 Norway); Johnson and Packer (1968 northwestern Alaska );
Laane (1969 Norway); Suda (1969 northern Canada); Sokolovskaya (1970 north
eastern Russia, 2n = c.60); Zhukova and Tikhonova (1971 Chuk, 2n =
c.60 1973 Chuk); Zhukova et al. (1973, 1977a N/NE As); Packer and McPherson
(1974 northern Alaska); Belaeva and Siplivinsky (1975 southern and northern
Siberia); Krogulevich (1976 southern and northern Siberia, 1978, 1984 Siberia);
Engelskjøn (1979 Norway); Malachova et al. (1979 Siberia); Petrovsky and
Zhukova (1981 Wrangel Island); Zhukova and Petrovsky (1987a north and north
eastern Asia; Lavrenko et al. (1989, 1990 northern Russia); Lavrenko and
Serditov (1991a northern Russia).
80 (8x). - Zhukovaand Petrovsky
(1976 western Chuk)
60 (6x). - Sørensen and Christiansen
(1964); Sokolovskaya (1966 north eastern Asia, 2n = c.60); Löve and
Löve (1975a, 1982a central Canada); Morton (1981); Packer and Witkus (1982
western Canada) for Petasites frigidus (L.) Fr. subsp. palmatus
(Aiton) Cody (1994),
60 (6x). - Taylor and Brockman (1966 western
Canada); Mulligan (1969 Alaska).
90 (9x). - Packer and McPherson
(1974 northern Alaska). Ploidy levels recorded 6x&9x.
Distribution. Northern hemisphere distribution: circumpolar; Canada, United States, Eurasia. Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories Islands, Continental Northwest Territories, Nunavut Islands, Continental Nunavut, Northern Québec. Low arctic. Range in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago limited. Arctic Islands: Parry Islands (Melville, Prince Patrick), Banks, Victoria.
Ecology and habitat. Substrates: along streams, river terraces; imperfectly drained moist areas, or on seepage slopes; gravel, sand, silt, moss; with high organic content. Habitats: moist organic sand over gravel, steep talus slopes (CAN 128166); sedge area adjacent to gabbroic outcrop.
Indigenous knowledge. Anderson (1939) noted that in Alaska at that
time the leaves were gathered as greens, but to a limited extent.
Kjellman
(1982) claimed that this plant is a favourite of the Chukchi, who, from the
mature leaves prepare a very special variety of "sauerkraut".
Notes. The young leaves and flowering stems may be eaten raw as salad
or cooked as a pot-herb (Porsild 1957). Schofield (1989) and Heller (1985)
mention that the leaves and flowering stems were used as a food in Alaska and
Siberia, by local Eskimo groups.
The leaves have been used by herbalists to
make a cough syrup, which is often flavoured with honey. It is said to relieve
persistent coughs, bronchial congestions, and asthma (Burt 2000). This author
found no evidence that the Inuit in the central arctic use this plant.
Löve and Löve (1975) split Petasites s. lat. into three
genera. Petasites s. s. and Nardosmia, both with x=10, were
separated on morphological criteria from each other. Endocellion with x=7
was separated on both morphological and cytological criteria from the others. As
for Petasites and Nardosmia, hybridisation with production of
'hybridogenous species' is reported between species assigned to the two genera
by the Löves (P. palmatus x P. sagittatus = P.
vitifolius), see Bogle (Rhodora, 70: 533–551 1968).
According to
Cody (1996), a local endemic occurs in the Richardson and Mackenzie Mountains in
northwestern Canada and reaches the Arctic both on the coast and in the northern
Richardson Mountains. This entitiy Cody recognized as Petasites frigidus
(L.) Fr. subsp. arcticus (A.E. Porsild) Cody, in Can. Field-Nat. 108: 94.
1994. Type from Mackenzie River delta, East Branch, CAN, see Porsild 1943: 74.]
The value of this entity was questioned Elven (et al. 2002).
Petasites
frigidus (L.) Fr. subsp. nivalis (Greene) Cody (Can. Field-Nat. 108:
94. 1994) is intermediate in some aspects between subsp. frigidus and
subsp. palmatus but occupies a range of its own in northwestern America,
west and partly north of subsp. palmatus. The diagnostic characters of
subsp. arcticus are such as could be interpreted as a local aberration in
subsp. nivalis.
Cherniawsky and Bayer (1998), considered
Petasites a taxonomically difficult genus in North America and presented
a table of comparing systematic treatments of the genus by Rydberg (1927),
Cronquist (1978), Hultén (1950), Bogle (1968), Scoggan (1979), Porsild
and Cody (1980), and Packer (1983). Cherniawsky and Bayer (1998) stated that
individuals are polygamodioecious, perennial, clonal herbs that are widely
distributed across Canada, Alaska, and the northern contiguous United States as
far south as California. All North American taxa of Petasites have
sympatric ranges. These authors concluded that the morphological differentiation
between P. sagittatus and other taxa of Petasites is not
considered sufficient to warrrant recognition of specific status. They
recommended that only one polymorphic speces of Petasites in North
America be recognized (P. frigidus with three varieties) in addition to
one hybrid taxon originating from a cross between two of the varieties.
Historically, North American species of Petasites have been
recognized under two other generic names. Tussilago including T.
frigida (Linnaeus 1753) and Nardosmia (Hooker 1833).
Korobkov in
Elven et al. (2002)) proposed four species in the P. frigidus aggregate:
P. frigidus s. s., P. hyperboreus Rydb., P. palmatus (Ait.)
A. Gray, and P. arcticus A.E. Porsild. In North America, where most of
the variation is, these intergrade and it is often impossible to keep them as
species and perhaps difficult even as subspecies. For this reason a compromise,
not to lose information, is to treat them as subspecies as done by Cody (1994,
1996). When this is done the taxon on the Arctic Islands is subsp.
frigidus.
Illustrations. • Plant in habitat. Plants, between the markers, growing in a wet seepage crack with moss and Eriophorum. N.W.T., Banks Island, Aulavik National Park.73°48'.17 N; 119°52'.32 W, 2 July 1999. Aiken 99–013. CAN. • Close-up of plants. Plants with flowerings heads in bud, a short, stout, flowering stemsand lobed deltoid vegetative leaves. Aiken 99–013. CAN. Scale bar in cm. • Close-up of inflorescence. Inflorescence with a few almost white ray florets, a few open, pale pink disc florets, and disc flower buds that are red on what will be the underside of the petals, when the flower opens. N.W.T., Banks Island, Aulavik National Park. 73°48'.17 N; 119°52'.32 W, 2 July 1999. Aiken 99–013. CAN. • Close-up of inflorescence. Three capitula with pale ray florets expanded and disc florets beinging to open. N.W.T., Banks Island, Aulavik National Park, 73°48'.17 N; 119°52'.32 W, 2 July 1999. Aiken 99–013. CAN. • Close-up of inflorescence. Flowering head with disc florets in bud and beiginning to open, rings of deep pink anthers in some flowers and fuzzy, pale pinkish, tuning-fork shaped stigmas in others. N.W.T., Banks Island, Aulavik National Park, 11 July, 1999, Aiken 99–061. CAN. • Close-up of inflorescence. Inflorescence in flower with disc florets open to show petals with acute tips, and long styles tipped with velcro-like stigmas to trap pollen. N.W.T., Banks Island, Aulavik National Park, 11 July, 1999, Aiken 99–061. CAN. • Young inflorescence. Inflorescence before anthesis. Subsp. frigidus. Norway: Troms, Tromsoe, Floya. 24.06.1979. Photographed by R.Elven. • Close-up of capitulae. Flowering capitula. Norway: Troms, Maalselv, Skrubben. 14.06.1980. Photographed by R.Elven. • Plants setting seed. Plants setting seed. Flowerings heads covered with white pappus hairs. Plants growing in birch-empetrum tunrda. N.W.T. Tuktoyaktuk, Plants growing on high tundra along the road to the dump, 20 July 1981, J.M. Gillett 18696. CAN. • Plants going to seed. Plants growing in stony gravel. Basal leaves more lobed. N.W.T. Tuktoyaktuk. Plants growing on high tundra along the road to the dump, 20 July 1981, J.M. Gillett 18696. CAN. • Inflorescence in seed. Inflorescence (capulescence) with expanded pom poms of white pappus hairs, and younger flowering heads that have not expanded. Small leaves on teh flowering stems and large, lobed basal deltoid leaves. N.W.T. Tuktoyuktuk, 20 July 1981, J.M. Gillett 18696. CAN. • Black and white drawing. Drawing by Mrs S. Bergh and Mrs L. Barstad based on a collection from Svalbard, Nordenskiöld Land, Advent Bay, Torvedalen, austsida. 23 Jul. 1924. J. Lid. O 201324. With permission of the Botanical Museum University of Oslo, Norway. • Arctic Island Distribution.
Cite this publication as: ‘S.G. Aiken, M.J. Dallwitz, L.L. Consaul, C.L. McJannet, L.J. Gillespie, R.L. Boles, G.W. Argus, J.M. Gillett, P.J. Scott, R. Elven, M.C. LeBlanc, A.K. Brysting and H. Solstad. 1999 onwards. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 29th April 2003. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/’. Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000) should also be cited (see References).
