Butterbur

Description:

Perennial flowering plant in the Asteraceae family. The flowers are produced in the early spring, before the leaves appear; they are usually pale pink, with several inflorescences clustered on a 5–20 cm stem. In the ochroleucus (yellow-white) subspecies the flowers are yellow-whitish. This subspecies is native to the Balkans (Albania, Serbia, Bulgaria, FYR of Macedonia and Northern Greece).

Habitat:

On the banks of a stream, near the artificial lake of Melissotopos (Kastoria, Greece).

Notes:

Petasites hybridus leaves have been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally (as tea or cold maceration in ethanol) and externally (as compresses or maceration in vinegar) for treatment of infections, fever, flu, colds, hay-fever and allergies Greek names: Πετασίτης ο φαρμακευτικός, Πετασίτης ο κοινός. Greek common name: Κωλοπάνα.