Fiore Blu salsify

(Tragopogon porrifolius)

A root vegetable which is fully winter-hardy here, salsify has long, pale roots which, some say, taste like oysters – hence its other common name, “oyster plant”. I have never eaten an oyster, so I cannot judge; but it’s a good addition to the winter menu. Flower shoots, which appear in the second year, can be eaten like asparagus. However, if you let it continue to flowering, you’ll get a beautiful show of purple flowers! The foliage in the first year is also beautiful; a long, thin burst of pointy leaves look like something from a desert. Quite decorative enough to be an ornamental, in addition to being a valuable food plant.