This subspecies grows in moist habitat, and is often seen alongside roads. It is a lowland to lower subalpine plant, reaching its highest elevation on the south side of the mountain.

Blooming in midspring, subspecies palmatus of coltsfoot is a tall, stout plant with numerous flowering heads in a somewhat flattened cluster. The leaves are borne directly from the rootstock.

This photo shows the whitish to pinkish flowers of subspecies frigidus, which grows along streams in the subalpine.

Subspecies frigidus is a subalpine plant that grows alongside streams to elevations of 7,000 feet. The toothed leaves are triangular and lobed, and the stems are about a foot tall.