Sunflower 'Aurora Rubin'

AVAILABLE FROM DECEMBER-APRIL, THEN AS A PLANT (SEE 409620).
This variety produces large, reddish tubers. The Paleleaf Woodland Sunflower (Zonnewortel) is a close relative of the Jerusalem Artichoke (Topinambour) and has been cultivated in Europe (especially by hobbyists) since around 1850. It originates from North America, and Native Americans had, of course, known its delicious tubers for centuries. These tubers resemble small, thin potatoes but with a pointed end, like a yam. You can eat them raw, grated with vinaigrette, or prepare them like potatoes. All Jerusalem Artichoke recipes apply to the Paleleaf Woodland Sunflower. Differences from the more well-known Jerusalem Artichokes are the slender, smoother tubers and guaranteed flowering! Leave the tubers in the ground during winter or store them in moist sand, digging them up as needed. Please note: like the Jerusalem artichoke, this is a plant that spreads easily through the garden; give it a confined space using root barrier fabric or dig it up thoroughly (at the latest) in spring.

Names:
Latin: Helianthus strumosus
Dutch: Zonnewortel
Also known as: Helianti
English: Paleleaf Woodland Sunflower