salsify

UK: /ˈsælsɪfɪ/ US: (sal′sə fē)

Inflections of 'salsify' (n): npl: salsifies

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

sal•si•fy  (sal′sə fē), n., pl. -fies. 

1. Plant Biology a purple-flowered, composite plant, Tragopogon porrifolius, whose root has an oyster-like flavor and is used as a culinary vegetable. Also called oyster plant, vegetable oyster. 

• ?
• Italian sassef(r) ica)
• French salsifis, variant of sassefy, sassef(r)ique
• 1690–1700

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

salsify / ˈsælsɪfɪ/ noun ( -fies)

1. Also called: oyster plant, vegetable oyster a Mediterranean plant, Tragopogon porrifolius, having grasslike leaves, purple flower heads, and a long white edible taproot: family Asteraceae (composites)
2. the root of this plant, which tastes of oysters and is eaten as a vegetable

Etymology: 17th Century: from French salsifis, from Italian sassefrica, from Late Latin saxifrica, from Latin saxum rock + fricāre to rub