Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
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Tragopogon porrifolius subsp. porrifolius
Salsify, Oyster plant
Asteraceae
Grassland, roadsides, and wasteland. Mainly Sydney, Canberra, and the tablelands. Occasional elsewhere.
Introduced annual or biennial herb to about 1.3 m high. Hairless, sometimes glaucous. Basal leaves 5–30 cm long, 10–20 mm wide, grass-like, linear, half-sheathing at the base, tips pointed. Stem leaves alternating up the stems, 3–30 cm long, up to 10 mm wide, bases stem-clasping, tips pointed. Flower heads with many lilac to deep violet or purple 'petals', each as long as or slightly shorter than bracts. Flower heads 5-12 mm in diameter below the ‘petals’. 5–8 bracts appressed to and surrounding the flower heads, each 25–60 mm long. Flower heads open only for a short time in the morning. Flowering: mostly Oct–Jan. Root edible.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Tragopogon~porrifolius (accessed 23 March, 2021)
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