It is easily mistaken for a Dandelion. A closer look will show that the Coltsfoot bloom is smaller and the flower stalk _the "scape"- is not smooth and hollow as in the Dandelion, but quite hairy and made up of overlapping segments. The leaves are supposed to be about the size and shape of a colt's foot- hence the name- but the outline is jagged all the way around. The plant was brought from Europe and it was supposed to cure colds which has not materialized.
