aka Sweet Coltsfoot, Arctic Coltsfoot Western Coltsfoot, Alpine or Arctic Butterbur. Palmatus means ‘lobed like a hand’. Prefers cold wet areas and pushes its stem through the ground at the beginning of March unlike most composites which bloom late. Can grown to 3 feet (1m). The flower heads are purplish or white turning to dandelion puffs by early summer. By mid-summer the fan-leaves reach their full size of 1 foot or more. Common in wet places, along streams, wooded areas and seeps. Despite its name it is found in lower elevations up to 5,000 feet.