ABSTRACT
Salsify is native to eastern Mediterranean region and Southern Europe, where it has been in cultivation for at least 2,000 years. In the 13th century, it was first mentioned in cookbooks, and its cultivation widely began in the 16th century in France and Italy. Salsify is a cool-weather crop, roots of which are of great nutritional importance. It is seldom cultivated though it deserves larger popularization and utilization in human diet. The plant has been used by the herbalists since classical times. It is a cleansing food with a beneficial effect on liver and gallbladder. The roots are diuretic, antibilious, slightly aperient, deobstruent and sometimes used as a remedy for upset stomach and other gastric disorders. Salsify is a hardy biennial vegetable but grown as an annual. Its carrot-like roots are tender when harvested young, long, tapered and white-skinned with shining white flesh.
