scale bar = 1cm.

Salsify - introduced (*Tragopogon porrifolius)

Home..... Menu..... Common name index..... Scientific name index..... Glossary ..... Daisies....

Family: Asteraceae (Daisy family).

Native of Europe and the Mediterranean region.

Occurrence: A widespread weed along roadsides and in waste areas. It is also an environmental weed.

Identification:

it has large, reddish-purple dandelion-like flowers
the bracts below the flowers are long and slender
the leaves are partly stem-clasping and grasslike
it grows as an erect plant
the seeds are ribbed and taper to a slender beak, with golden-brown feathery bristles.

Salsify is sometimes grown as a vegetable. The roots are cooked and the young leaves are used as a salad vegetable.

Photos: Above: Flowers and buds. Happy Valley. 2: Flower viewed from above. Downes Road, Castlemaine.
3: Bud and flower. 4: The seeds with golden-brown bristles. The seeds and bristles are larger and coarser than most other daisies. Castlemaine.