Medicinal Monday...Meadow Salsify

Meadow Salsify is a pretty yellow biennial perennial plant that is in the Aster family.  Originally introduced from Europe, it can be found in Connecticut and across much of the United States. As its name implies, it is often found in fields and meadows. Native American communities found several interesting uses for this pretty yellow flowering plant that is in the Aster family.

About Meadow Salsify

This plant has grass-like leaves that are lance-shaped and curved backward at the tip. The leaves are tufted with wooley hairs when young and become hairless as the plant matures. The grows up to three feet tall and has a single hairless erect stalk. The roots, stems and leaves have a milky sap. A solitary yellow-like Daisey flower blooms on the stalk from May to August. The fruit is slender and has a pappus of white feathery bristles. Their feathery pappus, similar to a dandelion plume has allowed these plants to spread across North America by the wind.

Medicinal and Edible Uses

Many Native American communities ate the roots of meadow salsify, raw and cooked. They have a sweet flavor because of their inulin content. In the spring the flowering stem including buds was boiled and served like asparagus. The root was also harvested in the autumn and dried for use in the winter. It is said the roots taste like parsnips when cooked.

The most common use of this plant was to treat liver and gallbladder problems because of its detoxifying effect. Many Native Americans used the milky sap to treat gallstones. They would also wait for the sap to curdle and then chew it to aid in digestion. A syrup was made from the root to treat coughs and colds and a tea was made to stimulate the appetite. An extract was made from boiling the roots and was used to relieve heartburn and liver trouble.  The Navajo Ramah made a cold infusion of this plant and gargled it with the mixture to treat a sore throat. They also used this cold infusion to treat boils. A cold infusion also was given to horses to treat them for internal injuries.

Did You Know...

This plant is also called Jack Go to Bed At Noon, Noonflower, Noontide, Meadow's Goat Beard, and Yellow Goat's Beard.

The origin of the genus name Tragopogan is derived from two words, Tragos meaning goat and pogon meaning beard, that refers to its feathery seedhead.

It is called Jack Go to Bed at Noon because this flower closes by noon on sunny days and forms a slim pod.

Bees and other insects are attracted to the flowers for their nectar and pollination.