Jerusalem artichoke is a plant native to North America. It is not an artichoke but is instead related to sunflowers. The plant gets that part of its name from the potatolike tubers it produces underground. These tubers taste somewhat like artichokes. Home gardeners often pickle the tubers. The tubers are also used as food for livestock, and in the production of fructose (also called levulose), a type of sugar.
Jerusalem artichokes bear yellow flowers and grow about 12 feet (3.7 meters) tall. The plants grow quickly from tubers left in the earth and can become a serious weed pest. Growers remove the tubers from the soil each year and plant new ones the following year to control the plants’ growth.
