Viper's grass, Idschelik
Scorzonera parviflora
Family: Asteraceae
What it is like
A herb. It grows 10-60 cm tall. It keeps growing from year to year. The leaves are in a ring. The rootstock is 1.5 cm across and creeping. There is one or a few stems that are only occasionally branched. The leaves at the base are narrowly oval and 7-20 cm long by 1-2 cm wide. There are only a few leaves on the stem and they are small. The flowers are yellow.
Where it is found
It is a temperate plant. It grows in wet, slightly salty meadows and riverbanks between 900-1,700 m above sea level in western China.
Countries/locations it is found in
Afghanistan, Asia, Central Asia, China, Czech, Europe, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
How it is used for food
Edible parts
Leaves