“Local Cure for Eczema. Coltsfoot is a wild herb common to most places and is used locally for this disease. The roots of this plant are washed and boiled into a jelly. Black soap and sulphur are added and the mixture is applied with a feather. It is applied everyday and prayers are recited while doing so, no washing of the face or affected part is allowed and the person with the disease must not remain away from mass while getting the treatment. This cure is a family one and the secrets of some herbs used, are only known to one member of the family. Before this person dies, he or she tells the secret to some remaining member.”
Annie Costello, The Schools’ Collection, County Dublin, 1930’s
Cover art by Anna Haller
Coltsfoot or Tussilago farfara is also called foal’s foot, tash plant, coughwort and farfara. It’s called sponc in Gaeilge and athan, fathan or cluas liath in Scots Gaelic. The botanical name Tussilago stems from the Latin word tussis and ago meaning cough and to act on. The common name refers to the way the leaves resemble a colt’s foot. Coltsfoot is a wonderful harbinger of spring and very loved by pollinators and myself alike. I can’t help but touch and look closely at them when one decides to pop up randomly in the yard or local wildflower field as I’m foraging.
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Isla Skye
Isla Skye is an American Celtic scholar, teacher, author and herbalist that splits her time between the States and Ireland. She has studied the druids and related practices for over 20 years. She is a published author of children’s books as well as other folkloric literature and is currently working through an M.A. in Celtic Studies. Her hobbies are family time, camping, hiking, reading, writing and research.
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