Scorzonera hispanica
Family: Asteraceae
Common Name: Vegetable Oyster

From southern Europe, northern Africa and Asia, salsify is grown for its oyster-flavored tap roots, which can be roasted, boiled or made into soup. Its leaves are eaten in salads.

Species

Scorzonera hispanica, black salsify, has a fleshy, black-skinned taproot. Tragopogon porrifolius is a hardy biennial, to over 1 m (3 ft), which is treated as an annual unless seed is required. The edible, white root is 30 cm (12 in) long, and the small flowers are purple.

Cultivation

Salsify prefers a light, deep soil which has been worked and manured for a previous crop. Plants are raised from seed sown between early and late spring where the plants are to grow. Sow 1 cm (½ in) deep, in rows spaced 45 cm (18 in) apart. The seedlings are thinned out to stand 10 cm (4 in) apart. Keep well watered and weeded during the summer and start to harvest from early autumn. If desired, all roots can be lifted and stored in containers of moist sand in a shed or garage.

Climate

Zone 6.