Winter heliotrope Petasites fragrans
Table of Contents
A winter flowering plant that’s very common on roadside verges, Winter heliotrope provides an important source of nectar to early emerging insects and pollinators.
Plant family: Asteraceae
Aliases: Sweet coltsfoot
Flowering period: November – February
Flower colour: White – lilac
Preferred soil type: Most types, damp
Habitat: Roadside verges, hedgerows, pond margins, waste ground
Status: Common
General information
A low-growing, hardy, herbaceous, perennial wildflower found on damp sites, such as pond margins, hedgerows, dyke banks and roadside verges. Winter heliotrope forms dense carpets, growing up to 30cm high, it can tolerate moderate shade and is sometimes found in woodland margins, especially on damp soil.
Winter heliotrope is an invasive plant as it spreads via rhizomes (underground runners) and it can smother out other plants and for this reason is often considered a weed. It’s not native to the UK, it was imported from Africa where is was introduced as an ornamental garden plant.
Identification
Flowers: The flowers grow in spikes to around 30cm high, with numerous white -lilac, fragrant flower heads with short ray florets.
Leaves: The round – heart shaped leaves a very similar to coltsfoot or butterbur, which it is often mistaken for. They measure between 20 – 30mm in diameter.
Value for wildlife
Winter heliotrope provides an source of nectar for early emerging pollinators including bees, prior to other pollen and nectar producing plants appearing.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to use, share and adapt any of the images on this page, under the condition we receive a followed backlink to our website https://diversegardens.co.uk as the image source.
