salsify

[sal-suh-fee]

noun

plural

salsifies 

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

salsify

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of salsify¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of salsify¹

C17: from French salsifis, from Italian sassefrica, from Late Latin saxifrica, from Latin saxum rock + fricāre to rub

Example Sentences

In recent years, plant-based eating has become more about Silicon Valley and stock prices than the Salinas Valley and salsify.

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Butter-poached salsify, a pale, mild root vegetable that resembles a less-sweet parsnip, was dolled up to dazzling effect with sumac and dots of puréed fruit — tart grapefruit and sweet dates.

Read more on Seattle Times

What to make of the word “mushroom,” trailed by “shiso,” “salsify” and “egg yolk fudge”? Make sure to try it, a server practically insists.

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Even with the best storage conditions, it’s generally not worth sowing celery, parsley, parsnip or salsify seeds after they are more than a year old.

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The owner at the merely awesome restaurant where you have lunch, who can make boiled salsify taste like the best plate of pasta you had on your last trip to Italy, smiles bitterly.

Read more on Los Angeles Times