The black salsify or Spanish salsify, also known as black oyster plant, serpent root, and viper's grass, is a perennial member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae), cultivated as a root vegetable. 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 See text Scorzonera is a genus of the sunflower family (Asteraceae), subfamily Lactucoideae, tribe Lactuceae, subtribe Scorzonerinae. ... 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. ... A Red Valerian, a perennial plant. ... Genera many, see list The aster or sunflower family (Family Asteraceae or, alternatively Family Compositae) is a taxon of dicotyledonous flowering plants. ... Root vegetables are underground plant parts (including tubers, tuberous roots, taproots, rhizomes, corms, bulbs, and enlarged hypocotyls) used as vegetables. ...

Description

It has heads of yellow ray flowers. The thin black taproot grows up to one meter long and up to 2 cm in diameter. It has a black skin with white internal substance. A plants taproot is a straight tapering root that grows vertically down. ...

History

The black salsify is native to Southern Europe and the Near East. As is indicated by its binomial name, it is generally thought to have spread to the rest of Europe from Spain.The name of the genus Scorzonera probably derives from the Old French word scorzon, meaning snake. The Celtic and Germanic peoples are believed to have eaten the black salsify, which was considered efficaceous against the bubonic plague and snake bites until the 16th century. The plant was being cultivated as a vegetable in Italy and France by 1660, however, and soon after, the Belgians were growing vast fields of it. Southern Europe is a region of Europe. ... The Near East is a term commonly used by archaeologists and historians, less commonly by journalists and commentators, to refer to the region encompassing the Levant (modern Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), Anatolia (modern Turkey), Mesopotamia (Iraq and eastern Syria), and the Iranian Plateau (Iran). ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... Old French is a term sometimes used to refer to the langue doïl, the continuum of varieties of Romance language spoken in territories corresponding roughly to the northern half of modern France and parts of Belgium and Switzerland during the period roughly from 1000 to 1300 A.D... The word Celtic can refer to: the European Celtic people, ancient or modern the Celtic languages, spoken by these people and their modern descendents the Celtic (Lusitania), Celts from the Alentejo. ... Bubonic plague is an infectious disease that is believed to have caused several epidemics or pandemics throughout history. ... This article needs cleanup. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Events Expulsion of the Carib indigenous people from Martinique by French occupying forces. ...

Food value

The black salsify is considered nutritious: it contains proteins, fats, the glycosides asparagine, choline und laevulin, as well as minerals such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, and vitamins A, B1, E and C. Since it also contains the glycoside inulin, which consists of fructose, it is particularly suitable for diabetics. Nutrition is interpreted as the study of the organic process by which an organism assimilates and uses food and liquids for normal functioning, growth and maintenance and to maintain the balance between health and disease. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... In biochemistry, fat is a generic term for a class of lipids. ... A glycoside is a molecule where a sugar group is bonded through its anomeric carbon to a nonsugar group by either an oxygen or a nitrogen atom. ... Asparagine is one of the 20 most common natural amino acids on Earth. ... Choline is a chemical with chemical formula (CH3)3N+CH2CH2OH. The neurotransmitter acetylcholine is converted into choline and acetic acid by the enzymes acetylcholinesterase. ... General Name, Symbol, Number potassium, K, 19 Series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1(IA), 4, s Density, Hardness 856 kg/m3, 0. ... General Name, Symbol, Number calcium, Ca, 20 Series alkaline earth metal Group, Period, Block 2 (IIA), 4, s Density, Hardness 1550 kg/m3, 1. ... This article is about the chemical element. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metal Group, Period, Block 8 (VIIIB), 4, d Density, Hardness 7874 kg/m3, 4. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sodium, Na, 11 Series alkali metal Group, Period, Block 1 (IA), 3, s Density, Hardness 968 kg/m3, 0. ... Vitamins are organic chemicals that a given living organism requires in trace quantities for good health, but which the organism cannot synthesize, and therefore must obtain from its diet. ... A glycoside is a molecule where a sugar group is bonded through its anomeric carbon to a nonsugar group by either an oxygen or a nitrogen atom. ... Inulins are a group of naturally occurring oligosaccharides (several simple sugars linked together) produced by many types of plants. ... Fructose is a simple sugar (monosaccharide) found in many foods and one of the three most important blood sugars along with glucose and galactose. ... This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ...

Preparation

The thick black skin of the salsify root is inedible and must be removed either prior to or after boiling. If the skin is removed prior to boiling, the peeled root should be immediately immersed in water mixed with vinegar and flour, in order to prevent discolouring. Since the root sap is extremely sticky, it is often more convenient to peel it after boiling the root for 20 to 25 minutes. Boiling is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which occurs when a liquid is heated to a temperature such that its vapor pressure is above that of the surroundings. ...

Black salsify is often eaten together with other vegetables, such as peas and carrots. But it is also popular in a white sauce, such as bechamel sauce or mustard sauce. Boiled salsify roots may also be coated with batter and deep fried. Binomial name Pisum sativum A pea is the small, edible round green bean which grows in a pod on the leguminous vine Pisum sativum. ... Binomial name Daucus carota The carrot is a root vegetable, typically orange or white in color with a woody texture. ... For the computer protocol, see SAUCE In cooking, a sauce is a liquid served on or used in the preparation of food. ... B chamel Sauce, also known as white sauce, is a basic sauce that is used as the base for other sauces, such as Mornay sauce, which is B chamel and cheese. ... Batter can have several meanings: In cooking, batter is a thick or thin mixture, usually made of a ground grain, a liquid, and a fat. ... Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject: Deep frying Deep frying is a cooking method whereby food is submerged in hot oil or fat. ...

Cultivation

Belgium, France and the Netherlands are the world's largest producers of black salsify.