salsify

American  

[sal-suh-fee] / ˈsæl sə fi /

noun

salsifies plural

1. a purple-flowered, composite plant, Tragopogon porrifolius, whose root has an oyster-like flavor and is used as a culinary vegetable.

---

salsify British  

/ ˈsælsɪfɪ /

noun

1. Also called: oyster plant.   vegetable oyster.  a Mediterranean plant, Tragopogon porrifolius, having grasslike leaves, purple flower heads, and a long white edible taproot: family Asteraceae (composites)

2. the root of this plant, which tastes of oysters and is eaten as a vegetable

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• salsifies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of salsify

1690–1700; < French salsifis, variant of sassefy, sassef ( r ) ique < Italian sassef ( r ) ica ) < ?

Example Sentences

Several companies—including PayPal, Salsify, and retail AI upstart Verneek—are touting tools that aim to make a company’s product lists more accurate and AI-ready.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

Salsify glued the salad, such as it was, to the plate, while a few crispy sunchokes were the best thing on it.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 9, 2017

Mangan's calamity left the way open for Salsify to repeat his victory of last year in the race.

From The Guardian • Mar. 15, 2013

"Mercy to me, how awful!" said Mrs. Salsify.

From Eventide A Series of Tales and Poems by Afton, Effie

With sections also on Celery, Salsify, Scorzonera, and Seakale; together with a chapter on their cooking and preparation for the table.

From The Book of Pears and Plums by Bartrum, Edward