Jerusalem Artichoke Name Origin

As such it represents one of the few taxa that can support an independent origin of domestication in this region. Jerusalem artichoke is native to North America and may have originated in the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys.

Jerusalem Artichokes What Are They And How To Cook Them

A root vegetable that looks like a potato.

Jerusalem artichoke name origin. Despite its name the Jerusalem artichoke has no relation to Jerusalem and it is not a type of artichoke. The origin of the name is uncertain. The perennial sunflower Helianthus tuberosus known as Jerusalem Artichoke or Sunchoke was cultivated in eastern North America before European contact.

The Jerusalem artichoke is a native of North America growing wild along the eastern seaboard from Georgia to Nova Scotia. A root vegetable that looks like a potato 2. Our sleuths have surmised that when Jerusalem artichokes arrived in Italy sometime before 1633 the Italian word for sunflower girasole which means turning to the sun was somehow later corrupted into the word Jerusalem.

The official name of the Jerusalem artichoke is sunroot other names include sunchoke earth apple and topinambur. A Roman Catholic cardinal dubbed this bountiful plant Girasole Articocco way back in 1617. Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus also called sunchoke sunflower species Asteraceae family native to North America and noted for its edible tubers.

Italian settlers in the USA called the plant girasole the Italian word for sunflower because of its resemblance to the garden sunflower. The very first written account of the plant was a report issued in 1605 by Champlain a European explorer who observed Native Americans growing Jerusalem artichoke along with corn and beans in a Cape Cod garden. Since the Jerusalem artichoke is a member of the sunflower family and the flower that emerges from the tuber looks very similar Italian immigrants began referring to is as girasole which is the Italian word for sunflower.

Jerusalem could be from a mispronunciation of girasole. The plant can grow between 5-10 feet in height standing slightly taller than a typical sunflower plant and carries many flower heads that are golden in color. Jerusalem artichoke is popular as a cooked vegetable in Europe and has long been cultivated in France as a stock feed.

The flowers look like small yellow sunflowers. The name Jerusalem artichoke probably came from the original settlersthe Italians to be exactwho called the plant girasole Italian for sunflower. The common name Jerusalem artichoke may derive from the Italian name girasole articiocco which means sunflower artichoke referring to the taste of the tubers and sunflower-like appearance of the flowers.

There are two explanations that make the most sense. Girasole is Latin for sunflower which these plants do resemble and share a heritage with. Linguistic confusion over the ages led to this root vegetable which is neither an artichoke nor has its origin in the Holy Land to be mistakenly identified with.

The origin of the word Jerusalem in the name is a little trickier to identify. The flowers look like small yellow sunflowers. Jerusalem artichoke botanically-named Helianthus tuberosus is the tuber of a variety of perennial flower in the aster family.

Jerusalem artichokes are not actually artichokes and do not come from Jerusalem. The Jerusalem artichoke or sunchoke is a tuber vegetable that comes from a type of sunflower native to the Americas. Over time the name got butchered by others until it became Jerusalem artichoke.

Its name has no connection to its origin or its genus and in addition the Jerusalem artichoke sometimes goes by the name sunroot sunchoke or earth apple.

Growing Jerusalem Artichokes Nc State Extension Publications