Scorzonera judaica
| Scorzonera judaica | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Scorzonera |
| Species: | S. judaica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Scorzonera judaica | |
| Synonyms[1][2][3][4] | |
|
List
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Scorzonera judaica, commonly called Jordanian viper's grass,[1] Judean viper's grass,[1] or what was earlier known as salsify,[5] is a species of geophyte of the family Asteraceae with yellow flowers. It is native to the eastern Mediterranean as far as Afghanistan.
Description
[edit]Scorzonera judaica is a perennial herbaceous plant with a cylindrical rhizome ending in a globose tuber.[6][7] The rosette of leaves grows immediately following the first rains.[8] The leaves are elongated, glossy and narrow, and covered with long white hairs that resemble spider webs. The flower spikes and the involucral bracts of the inflorescence are also covered with hairs.[8]
Growing from the rosette, the flower spikes reach 8–10 centimetres (3+1⁄4–4 in) long.[8] They bloom between January and April (in Israel). The yellow petals are connate and tongue-shaped.
The seeds are hairy all over and have a feathery tuft.[8] Upon ripening, they immediately disperse in the wind, looking like dancing cotton balls.[8][9]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]Scorzonera judaica has a broad geographical area, stretching from the sub-desert and steppe regions of the western part of the Irano-Turanian Region: Anatolia, Transcaucasus, Syria, Israel, Jordan, northern Egypt, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.[6] It is the only species of its genus that thrives in desert regions, with all other similar species growing in high mountainous elevations in the Middle East and in Asia.[8] In Israel, it typically grows on the slopes of the Judean Desert and in the northern Negev.[9]
Ecology
[edit]Scorzonera judaica is one of eighteen species of geophytes and hemicryptophytes that were found to be consumed by porcupines in the Negev Desert highlands.[10]
Uses
[edit]The taproots of this herb are edible and eaten raw when young, but in age they require either cooking or roasting first.[8][11] In the autumn of the first or second year, the roots can be prepared by being thoroughly rinsed, sectioned and boiled in salt water for a few minutes, then sautéed in a frying pan with a dash of olive oil.[citation needed] A palatable soup can be made from 20 roasted corms, flavored with spring onions, olive oil and a dash of salt.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens, Flora of Israel and adjacent areas / Scorzonera judaica, by Prof. Avinoam Danin and Dr. Ori Fragman-Sapir
- ^ Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
- ^ MA Zaika, N. Kilian, K. Jones, AA Krinitsina, MV Nilova, AS Speranskaya, AP Sukhorukov (2020), "Scorzonera sensu lato (Asteraceae, Cichorieae) – taxonomic reassessment in the light of new molecular phylogenetic and carpological analyses". In: PhytoKeys, Volume 137, pp. 1–85. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.137.46544
- ^ Hassler, Michael (1994). "World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora". Version 25.01; last update January 2nd, 2025. www.worldplants.de. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ At the start of the 20th-century, the genus Scorzonera was generally thought to be species of "wild salsify," as shown by the 1900 Library of Congress photograph of Scorzonera papposa from Palestine.
- ^ a b Léonard, J. (1983). "Contribution à la connaissance de la flore de l'Iran. V (Compositae: Heteroderis, Scorzonera, Taraxacum)". Bulletin du Jardin botanique National de Belgique / Bulletin van de Nationale Plantentuin van België (in French). 53 (3/4): 439. JSTOR 3667802.
- ^ Zohary & Feinbrun (1931), Plants of Palestine, An analytical key, Jerusalem, p. 399 OCLC 718138261
- ^ a b c d e f g Shmida, Avi (2005). MAPA's Dictionary of Plants and Flowers in Israel (in Hebrew). Tel-Aviv: MAPA. p. 154. OCLC 716569354.
- ^ a b Shmida, Avi; Darom, David (2000). Handbook of Wildflowers of Israel - Desert Flora (מדריך פרחי הבר בישראל - צמחיית המדבר) (in Hebrew). Vol. 2. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House. p. 98 (entry no. 84). OCLC 741107850.
- ^ Gutterman, Yitzchak (1987). "Dynamics of Porcupine (Hystrix indica kerr) Diggings: Their Role in the Survival and Renewal of Geophytes and Hemicryptophytes in the Negev Desert Highlands". Israel Journal of Botany. 36 (3). doi:10.1080/0021213X.1987.10677077.
- ^ Bailey, Clinton; Danin, Avinoam (1981). "Bedouin Plant Utilization in Sinai and the Negev". Economic Botany. 35 (2). Springer on behalf of New York Botanical Garden Press: 154. doi:10.1007/BF02858682. JSTOR 4254272. S2CID 27839209.
- ^ Ḳrispil, Nissim (1987). Amos Shapira (ed.). A Bag of Plants (The Useful Plants of Israel) (Yalḳuṭ ha-tsemaḥim) (in Hebrew). Vol. 2 (D.-Ḥ.). Jerusalem: Yara Publishing House. pp. 156–161. OCLC 21934597., s.v. הרדופנין
Additional reading
[edit]- Bader A., De Tommasi N., Cotugno R., Braca, A. (2011). "Phenolic compounds from the roots of Jordanian viper's grass, Scorzonera judaica", Journal of Natural Products 74(6), pp. 1421–1426
- Shelef, Oren; Guy, Ofer; Solowey, Elaine; Kam, Michael; Degen, A. Allen; Rachmilevitch, Shimon (2016). "Domestication of plants for sustainable agriculture in drylands: Experience from the Negev Desert". Arid Land Research and Management. 30 (2). Taylor & Francis Online: 209–228. doi:10.1080/15324982.2015.1089954.