View photos of the edible plant Tragopogon dubius (Yellow salsify), profiled in the Wild Edible Series: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Southern California, and Utah.

A passage from Southern California Food Plants:

The upper parts (flower, leaf, and stem) are picked and eaten raw, or steamed/sautéed and eaten cooked. A great tasting and mild green, they are non–bitter and very palatable. Try to collect the foliage before the flower goes to seed.

A passage from Wild Edible Plants of Arizona:

Salsify roots can be eaten raw, but most find them better if first boiled/steamed/sautéed. They are mildly bitter–tasting and provide more complex carbohydrates than the upper parts.

A passage from Wild Edible Plants of New Mexico:

All New Mexican Salsify species are non–native and originally from Europe. They do well at high to middle elevations, particularly in grassy areas that have at one time been disturbed – lawn and park edges, trailsides, embankments, etc.