Barba di Prete • Scorzonera

Salsify, which in its wild form is purple goat’s beard, the spindly-leaved apparition of early March, belongs as does root chicory and scorzonera to the daisy and dandelion family. When cultivated, its insignificant rootlets attached to a central tap-root explain its name – the priest’s beard. Its bladelike, glaucous leaves contain a milky fluid which is beneficial to the liver. When the plant is young, the central leaves can be chopped and eaten as a salad.