Tragopogon dubius

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Tragopogon dubius
Goats beard Tragopogon dubius close.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Cichorieae
Genus: Tragopogon
Species:
T. dubius
Binomial name
Tragopogon dubius

Tragopogon dubius (yellow salsify, [1] western salsify, western goat's-beard, wild oysterplant, yellow goat's beard, goat's beard, goatsbeard, common salsify, salsify) is a species of salsify native to southern and central Europe and western Asia and found as far north and west as northern France. Although it has been reported from Kashmir and India, recent evidence[ citation needed ] suggests that specimens from these areas may be a different species. Western salsify has been introduced into North America where it has become widespread, being reported from all the continental United States except for a few in the far south-east, and all provinces of Canada except Newfoundland and the northern territories.

Contents

Like most salsifies, the western salsify grows as an annual or occasionally biennial forb, reaching a height of typically 20–60 cm but sometimes almost a metre. It grows typically in warm, sheltered spots with moist soil. Its yellow flower head is 4–6 cm in diameter and is likely to be seen in late spring or early summer. Buds are blue-green, tall, and tapered. The inflorescence opens early in the morning and often closes up by late afternoon. Later the plant forms a seed head that resembles that of the dandelions but is distinctly larger. The seeds themselves (known as achenes) are 2–4 cm long but featherweight, weighing about 8 mg each on average. There is some natural variation between the central and peripheral achenes in the seedhead, with the peripheral ones being generally darker and heavier, and having a higher concentration of phenolic compounds; this may enhance their survival potential.

T. dubius, large seedhead Tragopogon dubius seedhead.jpg
T. dubius, large seedhead

Western salsify is quite similar to the generally more common meadow salsify, T. pratensis, but the bracts which show behind the flower head, a distinctive feature of salsifies, are longer and more noticeable. Although not particularly closely related to meadow salsify or the common salsify or oyster plant (T. porrifolius), the western salsify hybridises readily with both, and in North America its hybrids have given rise to the new alloploid hybrid species T. mirus and T. miscellus.

Because western salsify is a widespread plant, it has a large number of alternative common names. They include western goat's beard, wild oysterplant, yellow salsify, yellow goat's beard, meadow goat's beard, goat's beard, goatsbeard, common salsify, or salsify. Some of these are also, or more commonly, used for other species, and are better avoided. A synonym, Tragopogon major, may also be encountered.

The basal leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. [2] Native Americans ate the roots, which are best cooked, [3] and are said to taste like oysters. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Tragopogon</i>

Tragopogon, also known as goatsbeard or salsify, is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family. It includes the vegetable known as salsify, as well as a number of common wild flowers.

<i>Leucanthemum vulgare</i> Species of flowering plant

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Goatsbeard or Goat's beard is a common name for several plants and may refer to:

<i>Tragopogon porrifolius</i> Species of plant

Tragopogon porrifolius is a plant cultivated for its ornamental flower and edible root. It also grows wild in many places and is one of the most widely known species of the salsify genus, Tragopogon. It is commonly known as purple or common salsify, oyster plant, vegetable oyster, Jerusalem star, Jack go to bed, goatsbeard or simply salsify.

Oyster plant is a common name used for various flowering plants, including:

<i>Tragopogon pratensis</i> Species of plant

Tragopogon pratensis is a biennial plant in the family Asteraceae, distributed across Europe and North America, commonly growing in fields and on roadsides. It is found in North America from southern Ontario to Massachusetts; most of England; on the eastern and southern edges of Scotland; and central Ireland but not the coastal edges.

<i>Senecio eboracensis</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

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<i>Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus</i> Species of flowering plant

Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus is a species of shrub in the family Asteraceae of the Americas known by the common names yellow rabbitbrush and green rabbitbrush.

<i>Xanthisma gracile</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Geropogon</i> Genus of plants

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<i>Scorzonera humilis</i>

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<i>Agoseris heterophylla</i> Species of sunflower

Agoseris heterophylla is a liguliferous species in the Asteraceae or sunflower family known by the common name annual agoseris or mountain dandelion. It is widespread in mostly drier regions of western North America from British Columbia to Baja California.

<i>Grindelia ciliata</i> Species of flowering plant

Grindelia ciliata is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names Spanish gold, goldenweed, and waxed goldenweed.

<i>Pyrrocoma apargioides</i>

Pyrrocoma apargioides is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name alpineflames. It is native to the western United States from the Sierra Nevada of California east to Utah, where it grows in the forests and meadows of high mountains. It is a perennial herb growing from a taproot and producing one or more stems to 30 centimeters in length. The stems are decumbent or upright, reddish, and hairless to slightly woolly. Most of the leaves are located around the base. They are thick and leathery, lance-shaped with large sawteeth along the edges, often center-striped in white, and measure up to 10 centimeters long. The inflorescence is usually a single flower head lined with centimeter-long phyllaries which are reddish to green with red edges. The head has a center of yellow disc florets and a fringe of ray florets which are yellow, often splashed with red along the undersides, measuring up to 1.6 centimeters in length. The fruit is an achene which may be well over a centimeter in length including its pappus.

<i>Pyrrocoma uniflora</i>

Pyrrocoma uniflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name plantain goldenweed. It is native to western North America from central Canada to California to Colorado, where it grows in several types of habitat, including forest and meadows with alkali soils, such as those near hot springs. It is a perennial herb growing up to 40 centimeters tall, the stems reddish and usually with a thin to thick coating of woolly fibers. The lance-shaped, toothed leaves are usually woolly, the largest near the base of the plant reaching up to 12 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a single flower head or a cluster of a few heads, each lined with woolly phyllaries. The head contains yellow disc and ray florets. The fruit is an achene which may be over a centimeter long including its long pappus.

Townsendia leptotes is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names common Townsend daisy and slender townsendia. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in the alpine climates of high mountain ranges from California to Montana to New Mexico.

Tragopogon miscellus, the Moscow salsify, is a species native to the States of Washington and Idaho. Intensive studies over the course of many years have demonstrated that it originated as an allopolyploid hybrid between T. dubius and T. pratensis, both of which are European species naturalized in the US. Tragopogon miscellus has become established in the wild, reproducing by its own, thus deserving recognition as a species.

Tragopogon mirus, the remarkable goatsbeard, is a plant species considered native to certain regions of North America. Intensive studies over the course of many years have demonstrated that it originated as an allopolyploid hybrid between T. dubius and T. porrifolius, both of which are European species naturalized in the US. Tragopogon mirus has become established in the wild, reproducing by its own, thus deserving recognition as a species.

<i>Arnica lanceolata</i> Species of flowering plant

Arnica lanceolata is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, known by the common name clasping arnica or lanceleaf arnica. It has a disjunct (discontinuous) distribution in western North America and northeastern North America.

<i>Tragopogon orientalis</i> Species of plant

Tragopogon orientalis, common name Oriental goat's beard, is a hemicryptophyte herbaceous annual plant in the family Asteraceae,

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Tragopogon dubius". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  2. Niering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p. 409. ISBN   0-394-50432-1.
  3. Reiner, Ralph E. (1969). Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies. Glacier Park, Inc. p. 48.
  4. Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 117. ISBN   978-1-4930-3633-2. OCLC   1073035766.

Further reading

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