salsify

or oyster plant

Biennial herbaceous plant () of the aster family (Asteraceae), native to the Mediterranean. The thick, white taproot is cooked as a vegetable and tastes somewhat like oysters. The plant has purple flowers and narrow leaves whose bases usually clasp the stem. Goatsbeard, or meadow salsify (), is a weedy European species, naturalized in North America, that has a large yellow flower head. It is occasionally cultivated as an ornamental, and its leaves, flowers, and roots are sometimes eaten in salads.

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