Wildflower - Coltsfoot

Coltsfoot is one of the earliest blooming wildflowers in northeastern North America and is often mistaken for a dandelion. Coltsfoot thrives in roadside ditches and I found these flowers growing in the gravel along Joyce Road.



While the dandelion flowers grow on grayish green tubular stems, Coltsfoot has a scaly stem that looks a little like asparagus spears. The small, less than one inch, flowers of Coltsfoot are a welcome source of nectar for insects.