Fruit & Vegetables A Beginners Guide to Edible Weeds

Salsify root harvest. Newington, Sydney. © JPM, 2022.

Dandelion's big brother, you will not find a bigger puffball to wish upon! (Keep reading!)

Names

Hailing from the plant genus Tragopogon (T.), this hardy tuberous vegetable is common the world over, especially Europe and Asia, due completely, like the previous weeds before us, to its nimble, airborne seeds. An inevitable introduction to Australia and the USA during colonial settlement, these intrepid plants have a number of common English names: salsify, oyster plant, goatsbeard and, in England, Jack-go-to-bed-before-noon (I'm serious! ...more about that shortly). Colour variations in the names, for example purple salisfy or yellow salsify, indicate the two most common species: T. porrifolius and T. dubius respectively, the former of which is cultivated commercially in eastern European countries. There are other less common species with similar features (mostly varying in flower pigmentation) as those described below, although my American friends living on the West Coast might also like to search for T. pratensis (Duke, 2001: 197) in particular.

Habitat and Range

Salsify prefers temperate and subtropical climes, being a biannual in colder areas and a perennial in warmer ones. It grows best in loose, sandy soils which its solid, lengthy taproot can penetrate with ease. It struggles somewhat with Australia's nitrogen deficient loams, but it does appear with regularity in southern urban environs in New South Wales, Victoria and eastern Tasmania. It is a regular first-occupier of broken or disturbed ground, especially roadsides and fire trails. I have found it growing mostly undisturbed in many of Sydney's public parks and garden beds.

Figure 1. Distribution of Tragopogon (all species) around the continent. Atlas of Living Australia.


Identification

Key Identifying Features

• Grass-like bladed leaves, 10-40 cm in length, growing tight but alternately from the taproot (young plants), and clasping the flower stems (older plants)
• Leaves have a long, whitish central vein extending from the base to the tip
• Flower stems appear on 1+ year old plants
• Flower stems are solid, thick (as thick as asparagus) and branched, standing 80-150cm tall
• Flowers have 14-20 petals with a prominent calyx of 8-12 green blades underneath, coloured purple-mauve (T. porrifolius) or yellow (T. dubius, T. pratensis)
• Flower petals have a serrated tip
• Flowers close before noon on the day they are open!
• Flowers are very short lived (1-2 days - I have not found an open one yet!)
• Flowers turn into giant, rusty brown dandelion-like puffballs for wind dispersal
• Roots are thick and long, up to 30cm, occasionally branching
• All parts of the plant bleed a thick, white latex which will oxidise on contact with air into a staining, yellowish rubbery gum

Salsify can be difficult to identify at the ideal stage (between 1-2 years) because of its grass-like habit. Often it is easier to look for a lone mature plant's flower stalks rising up above its low grass-like profile as a sign there are likely more, and younger, plants to be discovered in the area.

Figure 2. Adult salsify (T. porrifolius) with major characteristics evident: flower buds, flower stalks, leaves clasping stalks, and white veins on the basal leaves. Newington, Sydney. © JPM, 2022.


Figure 3. A young salsify (T. porrifolius) very much resembles a strange patch of grass with whitish-green blades (also top right). © JPM, 2022.


Salsify flowers are rather distinctive, having the usual 'ray' type of the wider Asteraceae family they belong to, but with a far more 'blady' appearance than dandelion or catsear. The flowers will close themselves before noon (usually closer to 11am) on whatever day they open first. After pollination, they set into huge brown puffballs similar to dandelion, but about as large as a human fist; they are just a delight to blow into the wind! The seeds, attached individually to their airborne parachutes ('pappus') are long, thin and rough, approximately 2 cm (4/5 in.) in length.

Figure 4. The aptly named purple salsify (T. porrifolius). Note the bladed green calyx just behind the petals and serrated petal tips. The calyx closes over the flower daily before noon, making them look as they do in figure 2 above. Atlas of Living Australia. © Mel, 2020.


Figure 5. Variation in flower shading for purple salsify (T. porrifolius). Atlas of Living Australia. © C. Jonkers, 2021.


Figure 6. Common salsify or goatsbeard (T. dubius) has a yellow flower of the same shape; the meadow salsify (T. pratensis) is similar. Atlas of Living Australia. © B. King, 2012.


Figure 7. A giant brown puffball? Oh dear! The sure sign that salsify is near (T. porrifolius, pictured)! Note the spent flower at top of image with dried calyx. Sydney Olympic Park. © JPM, 2022.


Figure 8. Closeup of the seed and parachute ('pappus'). © JPM, 2022.

Beneath the plant is a substantial taproot, like a thicker, more robust version of dandelion. They can reach up to 30 cm in length in ideal growing conditions. These taproots turn tough and woody after their 2nd year (in perennial regions) as the plant literally expends all its carbohydrates to produce flowers and seeds.

Figure 9. A young, delectable taproot. Note the lighter colour. This specimen was on the small side. Sydney Olympic Park. © JPM, 2022.


Figure 10. A tough, old, woody root from a spent plant harvested in early summer (December). These can be dry-roasted to a crisp, but are still like chewing on a stick. © JPM, 2022.

Culinary Uses

All parts of this useful plant are edible. Young flower shoots can be used like asparagus, pickled or fried. Flower buds and flowers can be used in salads, pickles or cooked. Leaf bases, especially of young plants, can be eaten fresh or cooked however you like them.

The best part, however, is the taproot. These are preferably harvested before the second year when they turn woody (see figure 10 above), and in autumn as the plant prepares for winter, building up its carbohydrate and mineral content (Apelian, 2021: 106). Blanch or boil for the best culinary results, but they can be peeled and pan fried with butter, or roasted with oil, or eaten raw, doused in an acidic juice to prevent browing (e.g. lemon juice). The taste is like parsnip or turnip, although some people taste hints of oyster (I did not).

Figure 11. A selection of scrubbed and peeled salsify roots (T. porrifolius). Note the occasional forking. © JPM, 2022.


Figure 12. Roasted salsify (T. porrifolius) with a drizzle of macadamia oil at 180°C for 45 minutes. I think this was a bit long and I would shorten it to 30 or 35 minutes, or try boiling/pan frying. The several woody roots I had harvested turned into edible crisps (only one of them was still excessively woody, like eating... wood) so perhaps that is an accidental way to cook the old ones! © JPM, 2022.


Seeds can also be harvested and crushed into a coarse flour and used in baked goods like bread, granola and cookies (Duke, 2001: 196). Just make sure you remove the pappus (aerial parachute) first! This can be easily done by following the steps below (actually the reverse way that these puffballs actually open).

Figure 13. Grasp loosely below the puffball, doing your best not to disturb it with your breath or clothing. © JPM, 2022.


Figure 14. Lift upwards while gently squeezing all the parachutes towards the centre. © JPM, 2022.


Figure 15. Pull the puffball away from the stalk, pinching the parachutes between your palm and thumb. You can now pluck each seed from its parachute and place into a container for wild or garden sowing, or crushing. © JPM, 2022.


The sap of this plant can also be used as a chewing gum substitute. Apparently in Armenia, children would cut the stems or roots, and then dab the bleeding latex onto the rim of a glass and leave it to dry (Atlas of Living Australia). It can afterwards be removed, gathered into a ball and chewed. I have not attempted this, but can confirm that the sticky gum covered my knife and fingers after harvesting this plant and it was rather bothersome to remove!

Medicinal Uses

One source mentions that salsify, like dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), is high in inulin, a helpful prebiotic that promotes the growth of helpful bacterium in the digestive tract and an ideal food for diabetics, because inulin is a fructose sugar (not glucose) which will not increase blood-sugar levels upon consumption (Chevallier, 1996: 275). It can be used as a liver and gall bladder tonic in much the same way as dandelion. Duke made no mention of this plant in his tome on herbal medicines.

Look-alikes

Europe is home to at least one look-alike, plants of the genus Scorzonera. The most popular of these hails from Spain, the black or Spanish salsify (Scorzonera hispanica), or in German, Schwarzwurzel. The taproot looks very much like a purple carrot, but the rest of the plant is similar to common salsify (T. dubius). Black/Spanish salsify is not known to have emigrated to Australia, but there are limited reports of it having made its way to New Zealand. It can be used in much the same way, fortunately!

Figure 16. Black salsify (Scorzonera hispanica) flowers and stems. Wikimedia Commons. © Stefan Lefnaer, 2021.

Figure 17. Schwarzwurzel (black salsify, Scorzonera hispanica) on the left; Haferwurzel (purple salsify, T. porrifolius) on the right! Wikimedia Commons. © Benreis, 2021.


Further Reading

Apelian (2021), Forager's Guide, p. 106.
Atlas of Living Australia, "Tragopogon." [LINK]
Bonetto (2022), "How to Identify, Harvest and Eat Salsify. Oh My!" [LINK]
Chevallier (1996), Medicinal Plants, p. 275.
Deane (2012), "Edible Flowers: Part Fifteen" [LINK]
Duke (2001), Edible Weeds, pp. 196-197.
Grubb & Raser-Rowland (2012), Weed Forager's Handbook, pp. 101-105.