Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Tragopogon porrifolius L.

Synonyms

Tragopogon porrifolius L. subsp. porrifolius

Family

Asteraceae (Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory)
Compositae (South Australia)

Common Names

common salsify, goatsbeard, Jerusalem star, John-go-to-bed-at-noon, Joseph's flower, oyster plant, oysterplant, purple goat's beard, purple salsify, salsify, vegetable oyster, vegetable oyster plant, wild quinine, wild salsify

Origin

Native to northern Africa (i.e. northern Algeria, northern Libya, Morocco and Tunisia), the Canary Islands, southern Europe (i.e. France, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia) and western Asia (i.e. western Turkey).

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in southern and eastern Australia (i.e. in southern Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, south-eastern and eastern South Australia and south-western and southern Western Australia). Also naturalised on Norfolk Island.

Naturalised in other temperate regions of the world, including in many parts of Canada and the USA.

Notes

Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia and the ACT. It was recently listed as a priority environmental weed in at least one Natural Resource Management region.