Asteraceae
Helianthus

Helianthus tuberosus L.

First published in Sp. Pl.: 905 (1753)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Central & E. Canada to U.S.A. It is a tuberous geophyte and grows primarily in the temperate biome.

Descriptions

Ghazanfar, S. A., Edmondson, J. R. & Hind, D. J. N. (Eds). (2019). Flora of Iraq, Volume 6: Compositae.Kew Publishing

Morphology General Habit
Coarse perennial rhizomatous herb, rhizomes slender, finally enlarged at  tips  into fusiform, oblong-ovoid or subglobose, fleshy edible tubers
Morphology Stem
Stems erect, 1–3 m, scabrid or hirtellous, mostly branched above
Morphology Leaves
Larger cauline leaves broadly ovate or broadly lanceolate-ovate, scabrid on upper surface, ± densely whitish- puberulent below, serrate, petiolate, lamina 3-veined at base, 9–26 × 3.5–13 cm, shortly cuneate at base and then decurrent (broadly so above) along petiole Leaves opposite below, alternate above
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
Capitula mostly numerous, rays 2.5–4 mm, yellow; disc 1.5–2.5 cm in diameter, disc floret lobes yellow; phyllaries ciliate and dorsally pubescent, lanceolate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes 5–7 mm.
Distribution
Cultivated at a former Agricultural Experimental Farm (Iraq); alt. 40 m;
Phenology
flowering Nov
Vernacular
Jerusalem Artichoke (Eng.), Topinambour (Fr.). Guest (1933) gives the Ar. Name TARTŪF and states that it is “occasionally grown as a vegetable in kitchen gardens, but not much known”. Husain & Kasim (1975) state that it is “cultivated in the northern regions” of Iraq and give the additional names TARTŪF AL ARDH and ALMAZA. Chakravarty (1976) states that it is raised to a very limited extent in C Iraq and gives nutritive information.
[FIQ]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/20694364/20695376

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds Protein Content

30.60% Entire seed/nut. Moisture content not stated (Earle & Jones, 1962)

[SID]

Uses

Use
The tubers of this plant are a commercial source of inulin and a good carbohydrate food for consumption by diabetics.
[FIQ]

Common Names

English
Jerusalem Artichoke

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Iraq

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Living Collection Database

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Seed Information Database

    • Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. (2019) Seed Information Database (SID). Version 7.1. Available from: http://data.kew.org/sid/ (September 2019)
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • World Checklist of Vascular plants (WCVP)

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0