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Tragopogon porrifolius - L.

Salsify

Author	L.	Botanical references	200
Family	Compositae	Genus	Tragopogon
Synonyms	Tragopogon sinuatus - Avé Lall.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Europe - Mediterranean. Naturalized in Britain[17].
Habitat	Found near the sea and estuaries in S.E. England[17].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Biennial growing to 0.6m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Cultivars: (as above except)
'Improved Mammoth Sandwich Island'

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers; Leaves; Root; Seed; Stem.

Edible Uses: Gum.

Root - raw or cooked[2, 5, 27, 33, 37, 89]. The young root can be grated in salads[12], older roots are best cooked[183]. The flavour is mild and sweet, and is said to resemble oysters[183, K]. The roots are harvested as required from October until early spring, or can be harvested in late autumn and stored until required[4]. Young shoots - raw or cooked[2, 12, 27, 33, 37, 52, 183]. The new growth is used in spring. A sweet taste[200]. Flowering shoots - raw or cooked[200]. Used like asparagus. Flowers - raw. Added to salads[183]. The sprouted seeds can be added to salads or sandwiches[183]. The root latex is used as a chewing gum[61, 105, 161, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antibilious; Aperient; Deobstruent; Diuretic.

Salsify is a cleansing food with a beneficial effect upon the liver and gallbladder[254]. The root is antibilious, slightly aperient, deobstruent and diuretic[4, 21]. It is specific in the treatment of obstructions of the gall bladder and jaundice[240] and is also used in the treatment of arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure[254].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in ordinary garden soils, including heavy clays[4, 200]. Plants do not grow well in stony soils[4]. Prefers an open situation[37] and a cool moist root run[14, 20]. Salsify is occasionally cultivated in the garden for its edible root[2, 89], there are some named varieties[183]. Grows well with mustard[20].

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ as early in the year as possible, in March if weather conditions permit[4]. Seed sowings often fail unless the soil is kept moist until the seedlings are growing well[4].

Cultivars

'Improved Mammoth Sandwich Island'

Plants have smooth roots with sweet, tender, snow-white flesh and a mild pleasing flavour[183]. The roots take 120 days from sowing to maturity and store well[183].

'Mammoth Sandwich Island'

The long white roots grow 20cm or more long and are up to 4cm wide at the top[183]. They have a creamy white flesh[183].

'White French'

White carrot-shaped roots that make delicious soups[183].

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles 0 ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[14] Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979 ISBN 0-87857-262-7
A good herbal.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[27] Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press 0 ISBN 0-89815-041-8
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.

[33] Organ. J. Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. Faber 1960
Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.

[37] Thompson. B. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son. 1878
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.

[52] Larkcom. J. Salads all the Year Round. Hamlyn 1980
A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[89] Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press 1987 ISBN 0-7012-0784-1
A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture. 0
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Tragopogon porrifolius

Kevin Feinstein Mon Sep 3 2007

In my area, this is a plant that merits a 5 out of 5 for edible usefulness. I live in a warm microclimate of the Bay Area, California, and this plant is considered a weed. Even though we get hot summers with no rain at all, salsfiy thrives with its deep taproot. The leaves and flowers are edible, and always tasty, never getting bitter. Kids, adults, and chickens alike love the flavor. The roots of course are the best part, and are delicious. I'd like to see this plant grown more, especially in areas where water is in shortage.

feralkevin's permaculture and edible wild foods personal account of salsify

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