Skip to content
  • Home
  • How To
  • Native Plants
Favourites
Native Plant Search
Native Plant Search
  • Home
  • How To
  • Native Plants
Native Plant Search
Native Plant Search

Petasites japonicus

  • Perennial
Home Perennial Petasites japonicus

Moist woods and thickets.

Family: Asteraceae
Height: 0.6 m / 2 ft
Sun, Semi-shade, Shade
Light, Medium and Heavy Soil
Moist or wet

Plant Rating

Edible Uses: 3 of 5
Medicinal Uses: 2 of 5
Other Uses: 1 of 5

Native Habitat

Sweet Coltsfoot, Japanese sweet coltsfoot, Butterbur Petasites japonicus native habitat is Moist woods and thickets.

Edible Uses

Leaf stalks - cooked and used like rhubarb. The stems can be up to 1.2 metres long. They can be boiled and seasoned, pickled and used in winter soups or preserved in miso. They can be boiled, dipped in cold water then peeled and baked - they have a pleasant fragrant taste. Flower buds cooked or used as a flavouring. A slightly bitter yet agreeable flavour, they are much prized in Japan. They can be eaten whilst still green with miso or boiled down in soy sauce. The young flowering stems can be eaten cooked.

Copyright © 2026 - Plants For A Future