2. Petasites fragrans (Vill.) C. Presl (syn.: P. pyrenaicus (L.) G. López) (C-Medit.) – A rare and much decreasing, formerly locally naturalised alien. First recorded along ditches near Mechelen in 1867 (still present in 1879 but now surely gone). In the past decades found in Brugge (Minnewaterpark, at least between 1957-1971), Solre-sur-Sambre (at least between 1959 and 1985) and in Sirault (1963; see Buxant 1964) but probably gone now. There are few recent records (for instance from Ramegnies in 1989) but these require confirmation.
Most records are from parcs, estates, cemeteries,… and probably always represent relics of cultivation.
A hybrid between Petasites fragrans and P. japonicus has been described lately from Great Britain (Desjardins & al. 2016).
Selected literature:
Buxant F. (1964) Petasites fragrans à Sirault. Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belg. 97: 142.
Desjardins S.D., Hoare A.G. & Stace C.A. (2016) A new natural hybrid in the genus Petasites: P. japonicus × P. pyrenaicus (Asteraceae). New Journal of Botany 6(2-3): 64-70. [available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20423489.2016.1271383]
Griffiths R.S.L. (1992) Winter Heliotrope in Ayrshire, v.c.75. Glasgow Naturalist 22: 193.
Verloove F. (2002a) Ingeburgerde plantensoorten in Vlaanderen. Mededeling van het Instituut voor Natuurbehoud n° 20: 227 p.