Jerusalem artichoke

Plant Characteristics

Habit		herbaceous
Height:	⇕	1.5 m"m" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 1.5. to 3 m"m" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 3.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial

Cultivation

Features:	✓	flowers, edible
Flower features:	❀	yellow

Scientific Names

Helianthus >

tuberosus >

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The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), also called the sunroot or sunchoke or earth apple or topinambur, is a species of sunflower native to the eastern United States, from Maine west to North Dakota, and south to northern Florida and Texas. It is also cultivated widely across the temperate zone for its tuber, which is used as a root vegetable.

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1.5–3 m tall with opposite leaves on the lower part of the stem becoming alternate higher up. The leaves have a rough, hairy texture and the larger leaves on the lower stem are broad ovoid-acute and can be up to 30 cm long and the higher leaves smaller and narrower.

The flowers are yellow, produced in capitate flowerheads which area 5–10 cm diameter, with 10–20 ray florets.

The tubers are elongated and uneven, typically 7.5–10 cm long and 3–5 cm thick, and vaguely resembling ginger root, with a crisp texture when raw. They vary in color from pale brown to white, red or purple.

Read about Jerusalem artichoke in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus, Linn.). Compositae. The Jerusalem artichoke is the subterranean stem tuber of a native sunflower. Fig. 391. The plant is coarse and upright, and persists as a weed when once introduced. It does not need excessively rich soil, nor high culture, succeeding on any warm well-drained land without attention. It is planted much after the manner of potatoes, and it will grow and produce its many smallish, white, edible tubers. In late fall, the plants may be pulled up, exposing to view the tubers that are clustered around the roots near the main stalks so that they can be easily gathered with the help of a hoe or potato hook, if wanted for use as a culinary vegetable; or, if grown for hog-feed, the hogs may be turned right into the field and allowed to dig their own. All farm stock seems to like the artichoke tubers. If shredded or ground and mixed with meals, they make a good winter ration, as a variety, for poultry. More prolific than common potatoes, and far more easily grown, the artichoke is one of the crops that may be considered for cultivation as a succulent vegetable to - feed to cattle, swine, and other farm animals during winter. Raw or boiled and served cold with oil and vinegar, this tuber also makes a very palatable winter or spring salad, and for this purpose it finds a limited sale in our markets. The chief commercial demand for it is for seed purposes. Frost has no injurious effect on the tuber in the ground, and the easiest way to winter it, therefore, is by leaving the plants alone until spring and then digging the tubers. If already harvested, they may be pitted like potatoes, beets, or other roots, and will require very little covering. Mammoth White French is said by some propagators to be an improved strain of the Jerusalem artichoke. If there is danger of the plant spreading and becoming a weed, hogs, when given a chance at it, will soon clear the land of the tubers. It was cultivated by the Indians. See Helianthus. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

Jerusalem artichokes are easy to cultivate, which tempts gardeners to simply leave them completely alone to grow. However the quality of the edible tubers degrades unless the plants are dug up and replanted in fertile soil. This can be a chore, as even a small piece of tuber will grow if left in the ground, making the hardy plant a potential weed.

Gallery

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Jerusalem artichoke. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Jerusalem artichoke QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)