Petasites hybridus

Common Name: 
butterburdock
Scientific Name: 
Petasites hybridus (L.) Gaertn., Mey. & Scherb.
Family Name: 
Asteraceae (Compositae) - Aster or Sunflower Family
Identification Notes
Life Cycle
introduced perennial, reproducing by seed, tuberous base and fleshy creeping roots
Stems
reproductive stems, upright, leaf scales
Stems of Butterbur
Stems of Butterbur
Leaves
arising from swollen base, roundish and somewhat heart-shaped or kidney-shaped, very large, petioles long and hollow with ridges, margins irregularly toothed, smooth above, wooly below
Leaves of Butterbur
Leaves of Butterbur
Flowers
heads of pink-purple disk (tabulate) florets arranged in dense spike on thick stalk, dioecious with male and female on separate plants, appear before foliage emergences