Back to main Search Page

Tragopogon pratensis - L.

Goat's Beard

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Compositae	Genus	Tragopogon
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain, Caucasus, Siberia, Iran.
Habitat	Meadows, pastures, dunes, waysides and waste places[17].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Perennial 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

Meadow; Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves; Root; Stem.

Root - raw or cooked[2, 9, 12, 52, 100]. The roots have a sweet flavour due to their inulin content[7]. The young roots can be eaten raw whilst older roots are best cooked like parsnips or salsify[9]. They are often blanched before use[183]. Young leaves and shoots - raw or cooked[2, 5, 12, 52, 62, 183]. They can be added to mixed salads or used in soups etc[7, 9]. The leaves are best used as they come into growth in the spring[9]. The flowering stem, including the buds, is cooked and served like asparagus[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.

Astringent; Depurative; Diuretic; Expectorant; Stomachic.

Goat's beard is considered to be a useful remedy for the liver and gallbladder[254]. It appears to have a detoxifying effect and may stimulate the appetite and digestion. Its high inulin content makes this herb a useful food for diabetics since inulin is a nutrient made of fructose rather than glucose units and therefore does not raise blood sugar levels[254]. The root is astringent, depurative, diuretic, expectorant, nutritive and stomachic[7, 21]. A syrup made from the root gives great relief in cases of obstinate coughs and bronchitis[7]. A decoction of the root is given in the treatment of heartburn, loss of appetite and disorders of the breast or liver[240]. The root is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[7]. The fresh juice of young plants is said to be a good dissolver of bile, relieving the stomach without side effects[4].

Other Uses

Cosmetic.

An infusion of the petals is used to clear the skin and lighten freckles[7]. A distilled water made from the plant is used in cleansing lotions for dry skins[7].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in ordinary garden soils, including heavy clays[200]. Goat's beard was formerly cultivated as a vegetable, though it has now fallen into disuse[2, 4]. Grows well in the summer meadow[24]. The flowers open at daybreak and close before noon[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in situ. Make sure to water the seed in if the weather is dry.

Links

References

[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.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

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

[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.

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

[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden. 0
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

[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.

[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[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 pratensis

Isabel Coulton Tue Jan 17 2006

Please show pictures of all the plants!

Tragopogon pratensis

Jan Karpisek Wed Nov 26 2008

Goat's beard by Jan Karpisek for pfaf.org

Add a comment/link:

Discussion Monitor

To have posts to this page mailed to you enter your email address here:

(Your email address will not appear on the webpage or be passed on to third parties).