Black Root (Scorzonera)

Black root is a plant. It grows in the US and Canada and has a bitter and nauseating taste. People use the underground stem (rhizome) and the root as medicine.

Do you LOVE oysters? If so, you've gotta try growing Scorzonera,-Black Root- (also known as black salsify, black oyster plant, and viper's grass).

In the Middle Ages, this root was considered a powerful tonic and in many cases used as a snakebite cure. (Which is where it got the name "viper's grass".)

The Scorzonera root is covered with a brownish-grey, slick skin. It grows long, straight and fairly smooth. Sow your seeds in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked. Light frosts that occur in spring and fall will only improve the roots' flavor.

Black root may also be used for ongoing constipation and disorders of the liver and gallbladder.

How does it work?

Black root might increase bile flow from the gallbladder into the intestine.

Source:  WebMD