Delicious oat root is a biennial herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family. In its first year, it forms a rosette of leaves and a fleshy yellow rootstock with a diameter of 3–4 cm, a length of up to 30 cm, and a weight of up to 100–110 g. The rootstock contains numerous small roots and white flesh, as well as inulin – a beneficial component for diabetics. Due to its oyster-like taste, it is considered a delicacy and is often served in exquisite restaurants.
Both leaves and rootstocks of the first year are used for food: they are added to salads, sides, and soups, and regular consumption improves well-being, stabilizes digestion, and activates metabolism. Oat root is also widely used in folk medicine – decoctions and infusions are used for kidney and gallstones, liver diseases, cough, skin irritations, and leaves heal suppurating wounds, ulcers, and inflammation.
For cultivating the root, sowing is done directly into the open ground in late April – early May at a depth of 3–4 cm. The plant prefers loose, fertile soils with a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction and does not require special conditions: it is frost-hardy, cold-hardy, and drought-hardy. After harvesting, the rootstocks are cleaned, trimmed, and can be stored in a cool place, sometimes baked in crates. Leaves are harvested as they grow, and roots are dug up in September when the plant completes its first life cycle.
