Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Large
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

The Jerusalem artichoke is a tall North American sunflower whose knobby underground tubers — not its flowers — are its prized harvest. Despite its name, it has no connection to Jerusalem; "Jerusalem" likely corrupted the Italian "girasole," meaning sunflower.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Helianthus
Species: Helianthus tuberosus