Purple Salsify
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Asterales Family: Asteraceae Genus: Tragopogon Species: T. porrifolius
Binomial name
Tragopogon porrifolius L.

Purple Salsify, Tragopogon porrifolius, is one of the most widely known species of the salsify genus. It is also known as Oyster Plant, Vegetable Oyster, or Common Salsify, or simply as Goatsbeard or Salsify - though as these last names are also applied to other members of the genus, or to the genus as a whole, they are better avoided. Download high resolution version (437x667, 71 KB)Purple Salsify or Oyster Plant, Tragopogon porrifolius. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Orders see text Dicotyledons or dicots are flowering plants whose seed contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. ... Families See text The Asterales are an order of dicotyledonous flowering plants which include the composite family Asteraceae (sunflowers and daisies) and its related families. ... Genera many, see list The aster or sunflower family (Family Asteraceae or, alternatively Family Compositae) is a taxon of dicotyledonous flowering plants. ... Species about 45, including: Tragopogon coloratus Tragopogon crocifolius Tragopogon cupani Tragopogon dubius Tragopogon floccosus Tragopogon gracilis Tragopogon hispanica Tragopogon mirabilis Tragopogon mirus Tragopogon miscellus Tragopogon porrifolius Tragopogon pratensis Tragopogon X crantzii Tragopogon X neohybridus The Goatsbeards or Salsifies are the genus Tragopogon of flowering plants within the family Asteraceae. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... A painting of Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné   listen?, and who wrote under the Latinized name Carolus Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of taxonomy. ... Species about 45, including: Tragopogon coloratus Tragopogon crocifolius Tragopogon cupani Tragopogon dubius Tragopogon floccosus Tragopogon gracilis Tragopogon hispanica Tragopogon mirabilis Tragopogon mirus Tragopogon miscellus Tragopogon porrifolius Tragopogon pratensis Tragopogon X crantzii Tragopogon X neohybridus The Goatsbeards or Salsifies are the genus Tragopogon of flowering plants within the family Asteraceae. ... See genus (mathematics) for the use of the term in mathematics. ...

Purple Salsify is a common wildflower, native to Mediterranean regions of Europe but introduced elsewhere, for example, into Britain and northern Europe, North America, and southern Africa; in the United States it is now found growing wild in almost every state, including Hawaii, except in the extreme south-east. Sweet clover (Melilotus sp. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... State nickname: The Aloha State Other U.S. States Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Governor Linda Lingle Official languages Hawaiian and English Area 28,337 km² (43rd)  - Land 16,649 km²  - Water 11,672 km² (41. ...

The plant grows to around 60cm in height. As in other goatsbeards, its stem is largely unbranched, and the leaves are somewhat grasslike. In Britain it flowers from June to September, but in warmer areas such as California it can be found in bloom from April. The flower head is about 5cm across, and each is surrounded by green bracts which are longer than the petals (technically, the ligules of the ray flowers). The flowers are hermaphrodite, and pollination is by insects. State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... The 1st-century BC sculpture The Reclining Hermaphrodite, in the Museo Palasso Massimo Alle Terme in Rome In zoology, a hermaphrodite is a species that contains both male and female sexual organs at some point during their lives. ... SEM image of pollen grains from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory (Ipomea purpurea),hollyhock (Sildalcea malviflora), lily (Lilium auratum), primrose(Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ... A database query syntax error has occurred. ...

The root, and sometimes the young shoots, of Purple Salsify are used as a vegetable, and historically the plant was cultivated for that purpose; it is mentioned by classical authors such as Pliny the Elder. However in modern times it has tended to be replaced by Spanish Salsify or Black Salsify as a cultivated crop. Cultivated varieties include 'White French', 'Mammoth Sandwich Island' and 'Improved Mammoth Sandwich Island'; they are generally characterised by larger or better-shaped roots. The root is noted for tasting of oysters, from which the plant derives its alternative name of Oyster Plant; young roots can be grated for use in salads, but older roots are better cooked, and they are usually used in soups or stews. A latex derived from the root can be used as a chewing gum. The flowering shoots can be used like asparagus, either raw or cooked, and the flowers can be added to salad, while the sprouted seeds can be used in salads or sandwiches. Gaius Plinius Secundus, (23–79) better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient author and scientist of some importance who wrote Naturalis Historia. ... Binomial name Scorzonera hispanica L. The black salsify or Spanish salsify, also known as black oyster plant, serpent root, and vipers grass, is a perennial member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae), cultivated as a root vegetable. ... The name oyster is used for a number of different groups of mollusks which grow for the most part in marine or brackish water. ... The LaTeX logo, typeset with LaTeX LATEX is a document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. ... Chewing gum Chewing gum is a type of confectionery which is designed to be chewed, not swallowed. ... Binomial name Asparagus officinalis Asparagus is the name of a vegetable obtained from one species within the genus Asparagus, specifically the young shoots of Asparagus officinalis. ...

The plant has also been used in herbalism, also since classical times (it is mentioned by Dioscorides), and is claimed to have beneficial effects on the liver and gall bladder. The root is regarded as a diuretic. Dioscorides’ Materia Medica, c. ... Pedanius Dioscorides (ca. ... The liver is an organ in vertebrates, including humans. ... The gallbladder (or cholecyst) is a pear-shaped organ that stores bile (or gall) until the body needs it for digestion. ... A diuretic is any drug that tends to increase the flow of urine from the body (diuresis). ...

External links

• Jepson Manual treatment of the species
• Images from the CalPhotos archive
• Plants for a Future database entry