Salsifies are one example where
hybrid speciation has been observed. In the early 1900s, humans introduced three species of goatsbeard into North America. These
species, the western salsify (
T. dubius), the
meadow salsify (
T. pratensis), and the oyster plant (
T. porrifolius), are now common in urban areas. In the 1950s, botanists found two new species in the regions of
Idaho and
Washington, where the three already known species overlapped. One new species,
Tragopogon miscellus, is a
tetraploid hybrid of
T. dubius and
T. pratensis. The other species,
Tragopogon mirus, is also an
allopolyploid, but its ancestors were
T. dubius and
T. porrifolius. These new species are usually referred to as "the Ownbey hybrids" after the botanist who first described them. The
T. mirus population grows mainly by reproduction of its own members, but additional episodes of hybrid speciation continue to add to the
T. mirus population. ==Species==