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Smallanthus sonchifolius

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Photo from Gapphotos.com.


The flower by Michael Hermann,Wikipedia.org. 


The plants from Walmart.com.

Author: Harold Ernest Robinson, 1978
Family:  ASTERACEAE
Origin:   Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru (China, Costa Rica)
Soil:  Rich
Water:  Medium  - Maximum
Sun:  Maximum
Thickness:  10 Centimetres
Height:  250 Centimetres
Flower:   Yellow
PropagateSeeds
Names:  Yacón, Peruvian Ground Apple
Synonyms:  Polymnia sonchifolia, Eduard Friedrich Poeppig, 1845.
Polymnia edulis,
Wedd, 1857.
Silphium edule,
Baill.

This member of the Asteraceae family was given this name by Harold Ernest Robinson in 1978. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and grown as a crop in China and Costa Rica among others. It growing in a rich soil with some to lots of water and lots of sun. The caudex can grow to ten centimetres in diameter, the entire plant to 250 centimetres in height. The flowers are yellow.

The genera name after John Kunkel Small, 1869-1938, an American botanist, and Latin anthus; 'flower'. The species name means 'flowers like Sonchus', a member of the Cichorieae family.

I have to admit, it is a bit crop-like, but it is a biennial to perennial herb - just being used as a crop.


The roots from Walmart.com.