''Tragopogon'', also known as goatsbeard or salsify, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

s in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...

. It includes the

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the edible flower, flowers, ...

known as salsify, as well as a number of common wild flowers. Salsifies are

forb A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...

s growing as

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

s. They have a strong taproot and milky sap. They generally have few branches, and those there are tend to be upright. Their leaves are somewhat grass-like. Flower colour varies within the genus, with some yellow species, and some bronze or purple. Seeds are

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not o ...

s and are borne in a globe like that of a

dandelion ''Taraxacum'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia and Nor ...

but larger, and are dispersed by the wind. The salsifies are mostly natives of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, but several species have been introduced into

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and have spread widely there. There is one species sometimes considered native to North America, ''

Tragopogon mirus ''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 ...

'', but it is in fact a hybrid of two non-native species. Some of the more common species of ''Tragopogon'' are known, in the regions where they are most common, by the common names goat's beard, goatsbeard, salsify, or common salsify, without further qualification. These names are therefore inherently ambiguous, and best avoided, or reserved for the genus collectively. In the species list below, the first common name given is the one that seems to be most widely used for that species and is not in significant use for any other species. The vegetable called salsify is usually the root of the purple salsify, ''

Tragopogon porrifolius ''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 ...

''; the root is described as having the taste of

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

s (hence the alternative common name "

oyster plant Oyster plant is a common name used for various flowering plants, including: *''Acanthus mollis'', (also called bear's breeches), native to the Mediterranean *'' Mertensia maritima'' (also called oysterleaf), native to Europe and North America with ...

" for some species in this genus), but more insipid with a touch of sweetness. The young shoots of purple salsify can also be eaten, as well as young leave

Other species are also used in the same way, including the black or

Spanish salsify ''Scorzonera hispanica'', commonly known as black salsify or Spanish salsify, also known as black oyster plant, serpent root, viper's herb, viper's grass or simply scorzonera, is a perennial member of the genus ''Scorzonera'' in the sunflower fa ...

, ''Scorzonera hispanica'', which is closely related though not a member of the genus ''Tragopogon''.

Etymology

The name ''Tragopogon'' comes .

Hybrid speciation

Salsifies are one example where

hybrid speciation Hybrid speciation is a form of speciation where hybridization between two different species leads to a new species, reproductively isolated from the parent species. Previously, reproductive isolation between two species and their parents was thou ...

has been observed. In the early 1900s, humans introduced three species of goatsbeard into North America. These

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

, the western salsify ('' T. dubius''), the

meadow salsify ''Tragopogon pratensis'' (common names Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, meadow salsify, showy goat's-beard or meadow goat's-beard) is a biennial plant in the family Asteraceae, distributed across Europe and North America, commonly growing in fields (hen ...

(''T. pratensis''), and the oyster plant ('' T. porrifolius''), are now common in urban areas. In the 1950s, botanists found two new species in the regions of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Monta ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, where the three already known species overlapped. One new species, ''

Tragopogon miscellus ''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 ...

'', is a

tetraploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...

hybrid of ''T. dubius'' and ''T. pratensis''. The other species, ''

'', is also an

allopolyploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...

, but its ancestors were ''T. dubius'' and ''T. porrifolius''. These new species are usually referred to as "the Ownbey hybrids" after the botanist who first described them. The ''T. mirus'' population grows mainly by reproduction of its own members, but additional episodes of hybrid speciation continue to add to the ''T. mirus'' population.Soltis, D. E., Soltis, P. S., Pires, J. C., Kovarik, A., Tate, J. A., & Mavrodiev, E. (2004). Recent and recurrent polyploidy in ''Tragopogon'' (Asteraceae): cytogenetic, genomic and genetic comparisons. ''Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 82'', 485-501.

Species

;Accepted species ;Formerly included The following species were once included in ''Tragopogon'' and are now regarded as better suited to other genera: '' Agoseris, Geropogon,

Krigia ''Krigia'' is a genus of North American flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Plants of the genus are known generally as dwarf dandelions Lasiospora ''Lasiospora'' is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae, native to the Mediterranean region. ; Species Nothocalais ''Nothocalais'' is a genus of North American flowering plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae. There are known generally as false dandelions or false agoseris. ; Species * '' Nothocalais alpestris'' - alpine lake false dande ...

, Podospermum,

Scorzonera ''Scorzonera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae.Taraxacum ''Taraxacum'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia and Nor ...

, and Urospermum.''

References

External links

Jepson Manual treatment of the genus
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q889257 Speciation events Root vegetables Stem vegetables Asteraceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus