Tragopogon lamottei (Meadow salsify)

Tragopogon lamottei Rouy

Meadow salsify, jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, showy goat’s-beard, meadow goat’s-beard

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Asteraceae	The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus	Tragopogon	Derived from two Greek words tragos meaning “goat” and pogon meaning “beard,” suggested by its prominent, feathery hairs when in seed
Species	lamottei	For ‘Martial’ Lamotte (born Simon Gabriel Lamotte), 1820-1883. (Thanks to David Hollombe for correcting the previously misattributed name.)

About plant names...

Meadow salsify was introduced by early Europeans because its roots are edible. It has become common to invasive in many parts of temperate North America. Why is it called Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon? Ask the Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon fairy.

Plants: Plants are 12-39" (30-100 cm) in height. Broken stems and leaves exude a milky latex. This plant has a two-year lifespan (biennial). In the first year, it forms a basal rosette of leaves. In the second year it produces flowers.

Leaves: Lanceolate, grasslike, hairless, tapering to a long narrow tip, and less than 12" (30 cm) long. The leaves are alternate, and clasp the stem.

Flowers: Yellow, about 1¾" (5 cm) around. Blooms open in the morning and close in the afternoon. Buds have purple stripes. Flowers appear late spring to mid-summer.

Fruits: Produces a pappas—a round seedhead of achenes, each on its own tiny “pararchute,” similar to dandelions.

Edibility: Young roots are edible raw. Older roots should be cooked like parsnips. Young shoots and leaves can be used raw or cooked in soups or salads. The flowering stem and buds, cooked like asparagus, are also edible.

Online References:

Tragopogon lamottei at Illinois Wildflowers

Tragopogon lamottei on Wildflowers, Ferns & Trees of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah

Tragopogon lamottei on gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org

Tragopogon lamottei on www.invasiveplantatlas.org

Tragopogon lamottei on wildflowerfinder.org.uk

Tragopogon lamottei on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 220