Falsify the Salsify Trivia Quiz

Answer: burdock

The taproots (large, dominant roots) of some plants that are modified as storage organs are often cultivated as vegetables or for similar purposes. Burdock (Arctium lappa) is one such plant. Its roots are commonly harvested and eaten in Eastern Asia, while in the UK they are used to make a herbal soft drink known as dandelion and burdock. Before hops became widespread, burdock root was also used to impart its characteristic bitter taste to beer.

A member of the family Asteraceae, burdock is an Old World native, though it has also been introduced to other continents.

Its prickly seed heads (burrs), whose tiny hooks have the habit of catching on clothes and fur, inspired Swiss engineer George de Mestral to invent the popular hook-and-loop fastener known as velcro. Burdock root is also used in traditional medicine as a herbal remedy, and is believed to have blood-purifying properties.

Answer: turmeric

Rhizomes (from the Greek for "mass of roots") are not true roots, but rather modified plant stems that grow horizontally underground. Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant of the Zingiberaceae family, to which ginger, galangal and cardamom also belong.

A native of India and Southeast Asia, turmeric has been used for thousands of years in various traditional medicines, including Ayurveda. Today turmeric rhizomes are harvested mostly to use as a colouring agent for food and textile products; both its colour and its taste differ from that of saffron, which is much more expensive.

Many common foodstuffs, such as cheeses, condiments and baked goods, contain curcumin (E100) as a colorant and preservative. Most people, however, will associate the deep yellow colour of turmeric with delicious curry dishes.

Answer: taro

Like rhizomes and tubers, corms are modified underground plant stems, also called bulbotubers because of their short, swollen appearance reminiscent of that of true bulbs. Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is the most widely cultivated member of the Araceae family - not only in its native environment of India and Southeast Asia, but also in the Pacific islands, most of Africa (especially Nigeria, the world's largest producer of this plant), the Mediterranean basin, the Caribbean and the Americas.

The name "taro" comes from the Tahitian language, but many different local names are used for this perennial plant, whose leaves are also eaten as a vegetable.

The starchy corm, whose light purple colour is due to phenolic pigments, is always consumed cooked, because of the presence of calcium oxalate, a toxic substance minimized by cooking. Taro has a prominent role in the culture of Hawaii, where it is called "kalo" and used to make poi, a smooth paste of pounded taro that is the islands' staple food.

Answer: licorice

A native of the Mediterranean region and the Middle East, the licorice plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is a herbaceous perennial belonging to the Fabaceae (legume) family. Its scientific name comes from the Greek for "sweet root" - and, indeed, the compound present in licorice root, glycyrrhizin, is up to 50 times sweeter than sugar. Licorice's characteristic scent is due to a combination of compounds, the most significant of which is anethol, or anise camphor, also found in botanically unrelated plants such as anise, fennel and star anise. Today licorice is mostly used in candymaking or as a flavouring for products such as loose tobacco or toothpaste, as well as a herbal remedy in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine.

However, if consumed in large doses licorice can be toxic, and result in adverse effects such as hypertension and hypokalemia (low levels of potassium in the blood).

Answer: iris

Named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow, irises are a genus of perennial plants in the Iridaceae family that grow out of bulbs or rhizomes. They are extensively grown as ornamental plants for their beautiful, showy flowers, which come in a variety of colours - a likely reason for their name.

The genus' type species, the German or bearded iris (Iris germanica), and the sweet iris (Iris pallida) are also cultivated for their rhizomes (named "orris root"), the source of a highly prized essential oil.

In fact, one ton of iris root is needed to produce two kilos of the thick, violet-scented substance known as orris oil or butter - which explains why orris root is often found as an ingredient in expensive perfumes. The white variant of Iris germanica, known as Iris florentina, grows in Italy, France and most of Central and Southern Europe.

Answer: ginseng

Once touted as a cure-all remedy, and still widely used in folk medicine - in spite of the lack of substantial evidence for its actual effectiveness - ginseng is the fleshy root of various plants of the genus Panax. Indeed, the plant's scientific name means "all-healing" in Greek (as in "panacea"); its common name comes from Chinese, and can be roughly translated as "plant in the image of a man" - a reference to the root's forked shape. Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) is the most widely cultivated species. Though in the West ginseng is known for its use as a dietary supplement, or as an ingredient of herbal teas and energy drinks, in Korea it is eaten as a vegetable, or infused into alcohol. Though generally safe to use, ginseng carries the risk of overdose, which can have some serious side effects such as bleeding.

Answer: yam

Though a number of other root vegetables (including sweet potatoes) are commonly referred to as yams, true yams are the large stem tubers (thickened rhizomes) produced by plants of the genus Dioscorea, perennial herbaceous vines native of the tropical regions of Asia, Africa and the Americas.

The plant's name, of likely West African origin, comes from the Portuguese "inhame"; in fact, West Africa, particularly Nigeria, is by far the largest producer and consumer of yams, an essential food staple for the whole region.

As is the case with other root vegetables, yams are not edible in their raw form, though the cultivated plants do not generally contain toxic compounds. However, the tubers of some wild Dioscorea species are a source of the phytosteroid diosgenin, used for the synthesis of hormones such as cortisone and progesterone.

In alternative medicine, wild yam is promoted as a treatment for menopause symptoms.

Answer: lotus

The lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is one of nature's most iconic plants. An aquatic plant found in most parts of Asia, it is known for the beauty of its flowers, highly prized as ornaments in water gardens, and revered in most Indian religions as a symbol of purity, perfection and immortality (an individual lotus can live for over 1,000 years).

However, the lotus is also cultivated for other purposes, since both its seeds and its rhizomes are edible, and regularly consumed in many Asian countries. Lotus roots grow in linked segments that need to be separated into manageable portions.

When sliced, they display a striking pattern reminiscent of old rotary phones. They can be eaten raw or cooked, and are especially popular in Japanese cuisine. Lotus rhizomes have also been shown to be rich in active substances with diuretic, anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory properties.

Answer: salsify

Common or purple salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) is a native of the Mediterranean region, though now it grows wild in most temperate areas of the world. The long, brown-skinned taproots of this plant, a member of the Asteraceae family that produces pretty pink or purple flowers, have been eaten or used for medicinal purposes in Europe since antiquity. Black salsify (Scorzonera hispanica), also known as Spanish salsify, belongs to the same family, but its roots are darker-skinned (a possible explanation for the name "scorzonera", meaning "black peel" in Italian), Both roots are rich in nutrients, and have a delicate, oyster-like taste. Like the root of its common relative, the dandelion, salsify root is also regarded as having diuretic properties.

In addition, salsify contains a milky, latex-like substance that can be chewed like gum.

Answer: arrowroot

Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows in rainforest habitats; it probably originated in the Amazon basin, though nowadays it is widely cultivated in many countries with a warm, tropical climate and abundant precipitation.

The plant's common name probably derives from one of the root's earliest uses - making poultices to treat wounds caused by poisoned arrows or spears. It has been established through radio-carbon dating that the cultivation of arrowroot in South America began around 8000 BC.

In more recent times, arrowroot flour has become popular with people who avoid gluten or animal products, as an alternative to cornstarch or gelatin for thickening sauces, puddings, jellies and the like, or in baking to replace wheat flour. Most commercial arrowroot starch is produced in the Caribbean islands of Saint Vincent.