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Butterbur

Butterbur

Petasites hybridus

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How common: Very common

Invasive alien species

Butterbur is a robust perennial in the daisy family known for its very large leaves. In early spring it sends up thick spikes of many small pink to reddish flowers before the leaves appear. Later the leaves expand to near‑umbrella size, and the plant often forms dense patches along water edges and other damp, disturbed places.

Did you know?

  • The name Petasites comes from Greek for a wide‑brimmed hat, referring to the huge leaves.
  • Flower stalks appear before the leaves, often among the first signs of spring.

About the species

Identification

Stout, spreading perennial. Flower shoot 15–40(–80) cm, upright, unbranched and reddish to purplish, often hairy near the top, with small reddish scales instead of normal leaves. Dense clusters hold many small pink to reddish, narrow‑tubed flowers; male and female grow on different plants. Leaves appear after flowering and become huge: roundish to kidney‑ or heart‑shaped, up to about 1 m across, blunt‑toothed, green above and felted beneath when young. Very early flower spikes and umbrella‑large leaves make it easy to spot. Japanese butterbur has paler, yellowish flowers and rounder leaves; native northern species are smaller and have a ring of petal‑like edge flowers. In Finland it flowers in April–June.

Plant group

Herbaceous plants

Habitat

yards and roadsides, shore

Flowering

Apr–Jun

About the habitat

Moist, nutrient‑rich ground along streams and ditches, lake and river shores, field and road edges, parks and waste ground; often where soil has been disturbed. Locally common in southern Finland, more scattered farther north; absent from northernmost Lapland.

Sources

Photo: Patrick Le Mao, CC0 1.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6163162719

Text: Pinkka: BIO-513 Syventävä putkilokasvituntemus - Malus-Platanthera, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39849

Text: FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39849

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etel%C3%A4nruttojuuri

See also