Known in the UK as 'goat's beard' or 'Johnny go to bed at noon', these little green shoots are grown in Tuscany, where they're only in season for five weeks of the year.
Similar in appearance to samphire, it's best prepared by light steaming and served with lemon or olive oil. It can also be added to risotto.
The Goatsbeards or Salsifies are the genus Tragopogon of flowering plants within the family Asteraceae. They include the vegetable called salsify as well as a number of common wild flowers, some of which are usually regarded as weeds.
Goatsbeards are forbs growing as biennial or perennial plants. 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 borne in a globe like that of a dandelion but larger, and are dispersed by the wind.
The goatsbeards are natives of Europe and Asia, but several species have been introduced into North America and Australia and have spread widely there.
Some of the commoner species of Tragopogon are known, in the regions where they are commonest, 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. |
