White butterbur

About

White butterbur is seen twice a year, and each time it looks like a different plant. In spring, from March to May, thick light green flower stalks 10–30 cm tall emerge from the ground, covered with scaly leaves. At the top is a dense egg-shaped inflorescence of yellowish-white flower heads. There are no leaves at this time.

When flowering ends, the basal leaves unfold. They are round-heart-shaped, 20–40 cm wide, with uneven sharp teeth along the edge, on long petioles. The underside of the leaf is covered with white wool, while the top is bare and green. By mid-summer, white butterbur forms dense thickets along streams, where the path is barely visible.

In the Carpathians, it is a common plant of moist beech, fir, and spruce forests, stream banks, springs, ravines, and landslides. It grows from the foothills to the upper forest limit and higher. In the Ukrainian Carpathians, naturalists record it very often.

In the valleys, along the banks of larger rivers, hybrid butterbur grows. Its flowers are dirty pink, and the leaves are even larger — up to 60 cm and wider, with a grayish-green underside.

Both species contain alkaloids harmful to the liver, so they should not be consumed as greens or tea. However, covering the head with a leaf from rain or sun is an ancient tourist tradition that does not harm the plant if whole rosettes are not torn off.

Where in the Carpathians

Orange — where naturalists recorded the species (GBIF, CC0/CC BY); a blank area does not mean it is absent.

Countries

Ukraine · Slovakia · Czechia · Poland · Romania · Hungary

Mountain ranges

Bieszczady. In other countries: 🇨🇿 Moravian-Silesian Beskids, 🇸🇰 Greater Fatra, 🇸🇰 Lesser Fatra, 🇸🇰 Low Tatras, 🇸🇰 Javorníky, 🇸🇰 Belianske Tatras, 🇸🇰 Slovak Ore Mountains, 🇸🇰 Western Tatras, 🇸🇰 Strážov Mountains, 🇸🇰 High Tatras, 🇸🇰 Kysuce Beskids, 🇵🇱 Żywiec Beskids, 🇸🇰 Volovec Mountains

Altitude belts

Foothills (below 600 m) · Beech forests (600–1200 m) · Conifer forests (1200–1600 m)

When to see it

From naturalists’ observations in the Carpathians (iNaturalist, research grade): the darker the cell, the more often the species is seen that month.

Safety

Do not consume as greens or tea: the plant contains alkaloids harmful to the liver.

Protection and rules

Not listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

FAQ