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Goatsbeard

Scientific Names

• Tragopogon pratensis L.
• Compositae
• Composite family

Common Names

Meadow salsify
Noonday flower
Noon flower
Noontide
Star of Jerusalem
Yellow goatsbeard
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Parts Usually Used

Root
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Yellow goatsbeard is a biennial or perennial plant; the slender, fleshy taproot produces a light green, succulant stem from 1-3 feet high, containing a bitter milky juice. The alternate, grasslike, clasping leaves have curled margins and taper to long pointed, backward-bending tips. The stem bears a solitary yellow flower head with ray flowers that unfold early in the morning and close up at midday.

Other varieties: Purple goatsbeard or salsify (T. porrifolius) is a related larger species with uncurled leaves and purple flowers. It is perhaps more widespread than yellow goatsbeard, since it is often cultivated for its edible, oyster-flavored root. The root also has some diuretic properties, but they are weaker than those of yellow goatsbeard.

Aruncus dioicus is also called goat’s beard.
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Where Found

Grows in pastures, fields, meadows, and waste places of Europe, from where it has come to be naturalized in southern Canada and the northern part of the United States.
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Medicinal Properties

Diuretic, stomachic
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Legends, Myths and Stories

There is another herb that is called goat’s beard (Aruncus dioicus) of the Rose family. Other than having yellow flowers, this herb has no similarity with Yellow goatsbeard (Tragopogon pratensis) or Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius).

Salsify (T. porrifolius) is sometimes spelled “salsafy”. Grown as a potherb for its roots. Harvested, stored and cooked much as carrots or beets. Salsify or oyster-plant, yields a juice, that when chewed is said to aid digestion.
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Uses

Primarily used as a remedy for urinary and water-retention problems, the root decoction has been used for lack of appetite, heartburn, and digestive difficulties.
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Bibliography

The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

The Nature Doctor, by Dr. H.C.A. Vogel; Keats Publishing, Inc., 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. Vogel, Teufen (AR) Switzerland 1952, 1991

Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000

Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023, 1984

The Rodale Herb Book, edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. Emmaus, PA, 18049., 1974

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