# Scorzonera

Scorzonera is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae.
Species of the genus are found in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Its center of diversity is in the Mediterranean.
Scorzonera is recorded as a food plant for the larva of the nutmeg, a species of moth.

## Species

The following species are recognised in the genus Scorzonera:
* Scorzonera adilii A.Duran
* Scorzonera alaica Lipsch.
* Scorzonera alba R.R.Stewart
* Scorzonera albertoregelia C.Winkl.
* Scorzonera albicaulis Bunge
* Scorzonera alborzensis S.R.Safavi & Amini Rad
* Scorzonera alpigena (K.Koch) Grossh.
* Scorzonera angustifolia L.
* Scorzonera aniana N.Kilian
* Scorzonera argyrea Boiss.
* Scorzonera aristata Ramond ex DC.
* Scorzonera armeniaca (Boiss. & A.Huet) Boiss.
* Scorzonera bicolor Freyn & Sint.
* Scorzonera boissieri Lipsch.
* Scorzonera bracteosa C.Winkl.
* Scorzonera bungei Krasch. & Lipsch.
* Scorzonera bupleurifolia Pouzolz ex Timb.-Lagr. & Jeanb.
* Scorzonera calcitrapifolia Vahl
* Scorzonera cana (C.A.Mey.) Hoffm.
* Scorzonera charadzae Papava
* Scorzonera coriacea A.Duran & Aksoy
* Scorzonera crassicaulis Rech.f.
* Scorzonera curvata (Popl.) Lipsch.
* Scorzonera deliciosa Guss. ex DC.
* Scorzonera dianthoides (Lipsch. & Krasch.) Lipsch.
* Scorzonera drarii V.Tackh.
* Scorzonera ekimii A.Duran
* Scorzonera ferganica Krasch.
* Scorzonera fistulosa Brot.
* Scorzonera flaccida Rech.f.
* Scorzonera franchetii Lipsch.
* Scorzonera gageoides Boiss.
* Scorzonera glabra Rupr.
* Scorzonera gokcheoglui Ünal & Göktürk
* Scorzonera gorovanica Nazarova
* Scorzonera grigoraschvilii (Sosn.) Lipsch.
* Scorzonera grossheimii Lipsch. & Vassilcz.
* Scorzonera grubovii Lipsch.
* Scorzonera helodes Rech.f.
* Scorzonera hondae Kitam.
* Scorzonera humilis L.
* Scorzonera idae (Sosn.) Lipsch.
* Scorzonera iliensis Krasch.
* Scorzonera isophylla Post
* Scorzonera ispahanica Boiss.
* Scorzonera joharchii S.R.Safavi
* Scorzonera karabelensis Parolly & N.Kilian
* Scorzonera karkasensis Safavi
* Scorzonera kirpicznikovii Lipsch.
* Scorzonera kozlowskyi Sosn. ex Grossh.
* Scorzonera kurtii Yıld.
* Scorzonera lacera Boiss. & Balansa
* Scorzonera lachnostegia (Woronow) Lipsch.
* Scorzonera laciniata L.
* Scorzonera limnophila Boiss.
* Scorzonera lindbergii Rech.f.
* Scorzonera luntaiensis C.Shih
* Scorzonera mariovoensis Micevski
* Scorzonera meshhedensis (Rech.f.) Rech.f.
* Scorzonera meyeri (K.Koch) Lipsch.
* Scorzonera microcalathia (Rech.f.) Rech.f.
* Scorzonera nivalis Boiss. & Hausskn.
* Scorzonera pacis Güzel, Kayıkçı & S.Yıldız
* Scorzonera pamirica C.Shih
* Scorzonera paradoxa Fisch. & C.A.Mey. ex DC.
* Scorzonera parviflora Jacq.
* Scorzonera persepolitana Boiss.
* Scorzonera persica Boiss. & Buhse
* Scorzonera petrovii Lipsch.
* Scorzonera pratorum (Krasch.) Stankov
* Scorzonera pulchra Lomak.
* Scorzonera purpurea L.
* Scorzonera racemosa Franch.
* Scorzonera radiata Fisch. ex Ledeb.
* Scorzonera radicosa Boiss.
* Scorzonera renzii Rech.f.
* Scorzonera rosea Waldst. & Kit.
* Scorzonera rupicola Hausskn.
* Scorzonera safievii Grossh.
* Scorzonera schischkinii Lipsch. & Vassilcz.
* Scorzonera schweinfurthii Boiss.
* Scorzonera scopariiformis Lipsch.
* Scorzonera scyria M.A.Gust. & Snogerup
* Scorzonera sericeolanata (Bunge) Krasch. & Lipsch.
* Scorzonera serpentinica Rech.f.
* Scorzonera sinensis (Lipsch. & Krasch.) Nakai
* Scorzonera songorica (Kar. & Kir.) Lipsch. & Vassilcz.
* Scorzonera subaphylla Boiss.
* Scorzonera sublanata Lipsch.
* Scorzonera tadshikorum Krasch. & Lipsch.
* Scorzonera taiwanensis S.S.Ying
* Scorzonera tragopogonoides Regel & Schmalh.
* Scorzonera transiliensis Popov
* Scorzonera tuberculata J.Thiébaut
* Scorzonera tunicata Rech.f. & Köie
* Scorzonera turkestanica Franch.
* Scorzonera tuzgoluensis A.Duran, B.Doğan & Makbul
* Scorzonera vavilovii Kult.
* Scorzonera veratrifolia Fenzl
* Scorzonera verrucosa Boiss.
* Scorzonera virgata DC.
* Scorzonera wendelboi Rech.f.
* Scorzonera xylobasis Rech.f.
* Scorzonera yemensis Podlech
* Scorzonera yildirimlii A.Duran & Hamzaoğlu
* Scorzonera zorkunensis Coșkunç. & Makbul

## Etymology

One possible origin of the genus name is the French scorzonère ("viper's grass").

## Secondary metabolites

Some Scorzonera species contain lactones, including members of the guaianolide class of sesquiterpene lactones. Flavonoids found in Scorzonera include apigenin, kaempferol, luteolin, and quercetin. Other secondary metabolites reported from the genus include caffeoylquinic acids, coumarins, lignans, stilbenoids, and triterpenoids. One unique class of stilbenoid derivative was first isolated from Scorzonera humilis. They were named the tyrolobibenzyls after Tyrol in the eastern Alps, where the plant was collected.