Tragopogon Species, Common Salsify, Jerusalem Star, Oysterplant, Purple Goatsbeard

I always wondered what these were growing in my backyard ... now I know ... They Grow up here in northern California really well... get a...Read Morebout 2 feet tall if you let them grow.

Decided to plant a few seeds in my backyard to compliment my wild transplants of a related species. After 2 years (they're biennial), an...Read Mored upon flowering, I tried to cross-pollinate the two- and succeeded! "Tragopogon mirus" was the result (the cross has been previously recognized as occurring in North America, but not where their native ranges overlap in Europe), and has traits of both parent species (and is polyploidy)!

Luckily, they are still tasty!

See:
Synthetic polyploids of Tragopogon miscellus and T. mirus (Asteraceae): 60 Years after Ownbey's discovery. American Journal of Botany, 2009, 96: 979-988.

I am eagerly awaiting for the hybrids shown in figure 4 to show up in my yard (what with all the seeds being produced).

Salsify has become one of my new most favorite plants. It's spherical seed head is astoundingly symmetrical. It self-seeds like there's...Read More no tomorrow. And it requires so little water.

Salsify helps carrots, lettuce, onions, and leeks in companion planting.