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78-472: The Jerusalem artichoke ( Helianthus tuberosus ), also called sunroot , sunchoke , wild sunflower , topinambur , or earth apple , is a species of sunflower native to central North America . It is cultivated widely across the temperate zone for its tuber , which is used as a root vegetable . Helianthus tuberosus is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1.5–3 m (4 ft 11 in – 9 ft 10 in) tall with opposite leaves on

156-471: A folk remedy for diabetes : since inulin is not assimilated in the intestine, it doesn't cause a glycemic spike as potatoes would. Temperature variances have been shown to affect the amount of inulin the Jerusalem artichoke can produce. It makes less inulin in a colder region than when it is in a warmer region. Despite one of its names, the Jerusalem artichoke has no relationship to Jerusalem , and it

234-594: A bachelor's degree in Economics and Political Science in 1945. Caplan never learned to cook. Caplan worked in a law office and a nylon factory before the birth of her first child. In 1955 she had her first child and was looking for a job with flexible hours that allowed her to breastfeed. Relatives of her husband managed a produce company, Giumarra Brothers, that sold at the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market . They hired her as

312-447: A bookkeeper, despite her lack of bookkeeping and produce knowledge. When they left for a vacation shortly afterward, they asked her to take charge on the market floor. In the 1950s, most grocery store produce aisles carried a very limited selection of produce. According to Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley of Gastropod , they might include only a single type of apple, lettuce and onion. According to Caplan, there were "sixty items at

390-521: A height of 300 centimetres (120 inches) or more. Each "flower" is actually a disc made up of tiny flowers, to form a larger false flower to better attract pollinators. The plants bear one or more wide, terminal capitula (flower heads made up of many tiny flowers), with bright yellow ray florets (mini flowers inside a flower head) at the outside and yellow or maroon (also known as a brown/red) disc florets inside. Several ornamental cultivars of H. annuus have red-colored ray florets; all of them stem from

468-505: A horticultural expert, who told her there were between 20,000 and 80,000 edible species and that only around 200 had ever been commercially developed. Caplan retired in 1990 but as of 2012 still worked full time as chairman of the board. In 1995 she appeared on the David Letterman Show . A 2015 documentary about her career, Fear No Fruit , was produced by Cinetic . According to The New York Times , Caplan "[broadened]

546-400: A light, vanilla-chocolate perfume. The tubers are often elongated and uneven, typically 7.5–10 cm (3– 3 + 7 ⁄ 8  in) long and 3–5 cm (1–2 in) thick, and vaguely resembling a ginger root in appearance, with a crisp and crunchy texture when raw. They vary in color from pale brown to white, red, or purple. The tubers can be eaten raw, cooked, or pickled. Before

624-429: A microscope to see, is the presence of a prominent, multicellular appendage at the apex of the style. Further, the florets of a sunflower are arranged in a natural spiral . Variability is seen among the perennial species that make up the bulk of those in the genus. Some have most or all of the large leaves in a rosette at the base of the plant and produce a flowering stem that has leaves that are reduced in size. Most of

702-488: A news story, and by 1986 it was carried in 84% of the nation's supermarkets. Because Caplan was so closely associated with its popularity, food editors started referring to her as "the Queen of Kiwi". The kiwi established her reputation, and growers and importers from outside the market starting contacting her. In 1985 The New York Times called the marketing and promotion of the kiwifruit "her greatest claim to fame". By

780-505: A remedy for diarrhea or abdominal pain. In the 1980s, the Jerusalem artichoke also gained some notoriety when its seeds were planted by Midwestern US farmers at the prodding of an agricultural attempt to save the family farm. This effort aimed to teach independent farmers to raise their own food, feed, and fuel. Little market existed for the tuber in that part of the US then, but contacts were made with sugar producers, oil and gas companies, and

858-465: A similar texture but a sweeter, nuttier flavor. When raw and sliced thinly, they are fit for a salad. Their inulin form of carbohydrates give the tubers a tendency to become soft and mushy if boiled, but they retain their texture better when steamed. The inulin cannot be broken down by the human digestive system but bacteria metabolize it in the colon. This can cause flatulence and, in some cases, gastric pain. John Gerard 's Herbal , printed in 1621, quotes

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936-412: A single original mutant. While the majority of sunflowers are yellow, there are branching varieties in other colors including, orange, red and purple. The petiolate leaves are dentate and often sticky. The lower leaves are opposite, ovate , or often heart-shaped. The rough and hairy stem is branched in the upper part in wild plants, but is usually unbranched in domesticated cultivars. This genus

1014-442: A slight nutty-sweet flavor. An intense, pleasant, earthy note characterizes it. The tubers are washed and dried in an oven before being fermented and distilled. It can be further refined to make "Red Rossler" by adding the roots of the common tormentil , giving it a bitter and astringent taste and a red color. Red Rossler contains other ingredients such as currants, producing a schnapps with about 50% alcohol used as digestif and as

1092-530: A spirit called " Topinambur-Branntwein " (Jerusalem artichoke brandy), " Topinambur " (Jerusalem artichoke), " Topi ", " Erdäpfler ", " Rossler ", or " Borbel ". Topinambur produced in the European Union and Switzerland must be made exclusively from Jerusalem artichokes, contain at least 38% alcohol by volume , and contain neither added alcohol nor flavorings. Caramel color is the only permitted additive. Jerusalem artichoke brandy smells fruity and has

1170-472: A sunflower depends strictly on its genetic makeup and background. Additionally, the season it is planted will have effects on its development; those seasons tend to be in the middle of summer and beginning of fall. Sunflower development is classified by a series of vegetative stages and reproductive stages that can be determined by identifying the heads or main branch of a single head or branched head. Before blooming, Helianthus plant heads tilt upwards during

1248-610: Is a genus comprising around 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers . Except for three South American species, the species of Helianthus are native to North America and Central America . The best-known species is the common sunflower ( Helianthus annuus ). This and other species, notably Jerusalem artichoke ( H. tuberosus ), are cultivated in temperate regions and some tropical regions, as food crops for humans, cattle, and poultry, and as ornamental plants. The species H. annuus typically grows during

1326-770: Is also a risk of the plant's unintended escape into the wild. It can also be propagated by seed. Its relatively long flower period enables the Jerusalem artichoke to increase its reproductive potential. Originating in North America, the Jerusalem artichoke can now be found in several countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. In Central Europe it is one of the most expanding invasive plant species. It can grow in many geo-climatic regions and different types of soils. However, Jerusalem artichoke prefers moist habitats and seems to be less tolerant of dry conditions. Because of its ecological and biological attributes,

1404-550: Is derived from Greek ἥλιος hēlios "sun" and ἄνθος ánthos "flower", because its round flower heads in combination with the ligules look like the Sun . There are many species recognized in the genus: The following species were previously included in the genus Helianthus . The seeds of H. annuus are used as human food. Most cultivars of sunflower are variants of H. annuus , but four other species (all perennials ) are also domesticated. This includes H. tuberosus ,

1482-435: Is distinguished technically by the fact that the ray florets (when present) are sterile, and by the presence on the disk flowers of a pappus that is of two awn-like scales that are caducous (that is, easily detached and falling at maturity). Some species also have additional shorter scales in the pappus, and one species lacks a pappus entirely. Another technical feature that distinguishes the genus more reliably, but requires

1560-588: Is not a type of artichoke , though the two are distantly related as members of the daisy family . The most probable explanation is that Italian settlers in the United States called the plant girasole , the Italian word for sunflower , because of its familial relationship to the garden sunflower (both plants are members of the genus Helianthus ). Over time, the name girasole (pronounced closer to [dʒiraˈsuːlə] in southern Italian dialects )

1638-551: The Asteraceae (including the artichoke), Jerusalem artichoke tubers store their carbohydrate as inulin (not to be confused with insulin ) rather than as starch. This has made them an important source of inulin used as a dietary fiber in food manufacturing. Jerusalem artichoke can propagate with seeds and tubers but the use of tubers leads to higher yields. For planting, the tubers are cut into pieces with three to five buds that are placed in 5–10 cm (2" to 4") depth in

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1716-594: The Endangered Species Act . The primary threats to this species are industrial forestry and pine plantations in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. They grow to 1.8 metres (6 feet) and are primarily found in woodlands, adjacent to creeks and moist, prairie-like areas. The common sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine , cultivated there for several centuries. Sunflowers are usually tall annual or perennial plants that in some species can grow to

1794-457: The Jerusalem artichoke , which produces edible tubers. There are many species in the sunflower genus Helianthus , and many species in other genera that may be called sunflowers. Sunflowers have been proven to be excellent plants to attract beneficial insects, including pollinators. Helianthus spp. are a nectar producing flowering plant that attract pollinators and parasitoids which reduce

1872-462: The USRDA of fiber, niacin, thiamine, phosphorus, and copper. In former times, Jerusalem artichoke was used as forage for domesticated cattle, horses, and pigs. The plant has valuable nutrient contents and various bioactive compounds, and so is used today as an animal feed source or for the health of several animal species. Pigs, for example, can eat the tuber either dried or directly from the ground or

1950-547: The Virginia Algonquian term kaishucpenauk reported in 1588. Sunchoke, a name by which it is still known today, was invented in the 1960s by Frieda Caplan , a produce wholesaler trying to revive the plant's appeal. The artichoke part of the Jerusalem artichoke's name comes from the taste of its edible tuber. Samuel de Champlain , the French explorer, sent the first samples of the plant to France, noting its taste

2028-523: The common sunflower (also originating in the Americas) as an ancestor, and instead points to hybridization between the hairy sunflower and the sawtooth sunflower . The French explorer Samuel de Champlain discovered that the native people of Nauset Harbor in Massachusetts had cultivated roots that tasted like artichoke. The following year, Champlain returned to the same area to discover that

2106-513: The hypocotyls will bend toward blue light but not red light, depending on the quality of the light source. It is the circadian rhythms and the differences of the stem growth rate that work together and cause the heliotropism of the Helianthus . This is important for attracting pollinators and increasing growth metabolism. Future studies are required to identify the exact physiological basis and cellular mechanism for this behavior. Helianthus

2184-428: The "Canadian truffle". Its rapid growth and its ability to reproduce from buried rhizomes and tubers facilitates the Jerusalem artichoke's uncontrolled spread. The vegetative propagules can be transported via rivers and water streams and begin a new population on riverbanks. Dispersal by animal is also possible, as animals feed on tubers and rhizomes and excrete the propagules in new areas. With humans' cultivation, there

2262-482: The "offputting name" of Chinese gooseberry. An importer approached her and the other produce wholesalers in the market about selling it; Caplan was the only one to say yes. The fruit was unattractive and sold very slowly. Growers in New Zealand began to call the fruit "kiwifruit" in 1959, and Caplan started selling it by that name. She recruited local chefs to create dishes with the fruit and gave out samples on

2340-447: The 1970s, Caplan had a sales team who were all women. She had a regular spot on local television giving "market reports to consumers". By 1979 she was selling 130 specialty produce items. Caplan was known for her inventiveness at packaging and promoting unusual produce and being willing to take risks with profits. The Los Angeles Times said she revolutionized the industry. In 2020, The New York Times credited her with coming up with

2418-517: The 1980s." The Wall Street Journal said she "spawned today’s culinary daredevils". Caplan was named an Outstanding California Woman in Business in 1987. UCLA gave her a Professional Achievement Award. She was the first woman awarded a Produce Man of the Year award from The Packer , the newspaper of the fresh produce industry, and refused to accept it until it was renamed to Produce Marketer of

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2496-458: The English botanist John Goodyer on Jerusalem artichokes: which way soever they be dressed and eaten, they stir and cause a filthy loathsome stinking wind within the body, thereby causing the belly to be pained and tormented, and are a meat more fit for swine than men. Jerusalem artichokes have 650 mg potassium per 1 cup (150 g) serving. They are also high in iron and contain 10–12% of

2574-540: The English herbalist and botanist John Parkinson wrote that the widely grown Jerusalem artichoke had become very common and cheap in London, so much so "that even the most vulgar begin to despise them." In contrast, when they had first arrived in England, the tubers had been "dainties for the Queen." Lewis and Clark ate the tubers, prepared by an indigenous woman, in modern-day North Dakota . They have also been called

2652-793: The Jerusalem artichoke had become a very common vegetable for human consumption in Europe and the Americas and was also used for livestock feed in Europe and colonial America. The French were particularly fond of the vegetable, which reached its peak popularity at the turn of the 19th century. The Jerusalem artichoke was titled 'best soup vegetable' in the 2002 Nice Festival for the Heritage of French Cuisine. The French explorer and Acadia's first historian Marc Lescarbot described Jerusalem artichokes as being "as big as turnips or truffles," suitable for eating and taste "like chards, but more pleasant." In 1629,

2730-430: The Jerusalem artichoke is highly competitive with other plant species. For instance, the carbohydrates in the tubers serve as an energy source for rapid growth in spring . The plant expands rapidly and creates shading, which has a suppressing effect on neighbouring plants. Therefore, the risk of outcompeting and repressing the growth of native plants is increased. Unlike most tubers, but in common with many other members of

2808-657: The Year. Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo awarded her an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters . United Fresh Produce Association gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award. The National Association of Women Business Owners gave her a Legacy Award, Working Woman magazine gave her their first Harriet Alger Award for Entrepreneurship and the Produce Marketing Association gave her a Women's Catalyst Award in 2019. According to The New York Times, an endorsement from Frieda's represents "a game-changer" for growers. Caplan's daughters, Karen and Jackie, took over

2886-485: The arrival of Europeans, indigenous peoples cultivated H. tuberosus as a food source. The tubers persist for years after being planted, so the species expanded its range from central North America to the eastern and western regions. Early European colonists learned of this and sent tubers back to Europe , where they became a popular crop and naturalized there. It later gradually fell into obscurity in North America, but attempts to market it commercially were successful in

2964-982: The business after her retirement. The business is now called Frieda's Inc. As of 2020, Frieda's was "basically where all the new fruits and vegetables on our supermarket shelves come from", according to Graber and Twilley. The company no longer deals in kiwifruit; it is no longer considered specialty produce. According to Graber and Twilley, Frieda's is "ground zero" for growers of a new-to-the-US produce item. The company buys products from American farmers and from importers. The company's introductions to supermarket produce departments, in addition to kiwifruit, sugar snap peas and Jerusalem artichokes, include: jicama , blood oranges , guavas , shallots , Belgian endive, red seedless grapes, passion fruit , star fruit , jackfruit , many chili peppers including habaneros, Asian pears , many squashes including spaghetti squash , Meyer lemons, and fresh herbs. By 2018 Frieda's had 75 full-time employees and 110 part-time. As of January 2020

3042-497: The choices available to American consumers by importing products from South America, Australia, Asia and elsewhere. She taught retailers how to store and promote them and buyers how to prepare them." In 2015, Entrepreneur said that Caplan "forever changed the American produce landscape, and our palates by extension, by ushering edible oddities out of obscurity and into the mainstream." In 2020, The New York Times credited her with

3120-461: The crop lost money. Stem rot disease is caused by the fungus Agroathelia rolfsii (aka Sclerotium rolfsii or Athelia rolfsii ), which is one of the most important pathogens causing tuber and stem rot and up to 60% loss in Jerusalem artichoke yield. Growing resistant varieties is an important method of controlling Agroathelia rolfsii . Helianthus Harpalium (Cass.) Cass. Helianthus ( / ˌ h iː l i ˈ æ n θ ə s / )

3198-406: The crops will increase insect attraction. In addition to pollinators of Helianthus spp ., there are other factors such as abiotic stress, florivory , and disease which also contribute to the evolution of floral traits. These selective pressures, which stem from several biotic and abiotic factors are associated with habitat environmental conditions which all play a role in the overall morphology of

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3276-453: The day to face the Sun . This movement is referred to as heliotropism , which continues for a short time when flower buds form and young Helianthus heads track the Sun. At night, the flower heads reorient their position and face East in anticipation for the sunrise. Sunflowers move back to their original position between the hours of 3am and 6am, and the leaves follow about an hour later. By

3354-454: The evolution of larger sunflowers in drier environments is that the pressure from florivory and disease favors smaller flowers in habitats that have a more moderate supply of moisture (mesic habitat). Wetter environments usually have more dense vegetation, more herbivores, and more surrounding pathogens. As larger flowers are typically more susceptible to disease and florivory, smaller flowers may have evolved in wetter environments which explains

3432-488: The evolution of larger sunflowers in more drier environments. Frieda Caplan Caplan was born Frieda Rapoport in downtown Los Angeles on August 10, 1923. Her parents, Solomon and Rose Yanowa Rapoport, were Jewish Russian immigrants. She was raised in Highland Park . Her father worked for a clothing manufacturer as a pattern cutter, and her mother was a homemaker. She attended UCLA , where she earned

3510-435: The fresh food market for markets to be developed. Fructose had not yet been established as a mainstay, nor was ethanol used as a main fuel additive as it is today. The only real profit in this effort was realized by a few first-year growers (who sold some of their seed to other farmers individually as well as with the help of the company attempting this venture). As a result, many of the farmers who had planted large quantities of

3588-402: The front page of the food section. In 1979 she told Mimi Sheraton it was not the consumer but "the retailer who is afraid to try anything new. When we pioneer a new item, we are willing to take a small markup to get it introduced. Then when it catches on we realize a better profit." At one point Caplan, worried about whether it was possible to run out of new products to introduce and contacted

3666-417: The green plant biomass (stalks and leaves) from the pasture. Washed Jerusalem artichoke tubers can be fed to many animals, and silage produced from the harvested stalks and leaves. The silage has high nutrient values and satisfactory digestion performance for ruminants. Its high inulin content beneficially affects the rumen metabolism and microflora. However, cutting the tops to produce silage greatly reduces

3744-417: The ground lie dormant over winter and can handle temperatures as low as −30 °C (−22 °F). Jerusalem artichoke also has potential for production of ethanol fuel , using inulin-adapted strains of yeast for fermentation. The tubers are used for cooking and baking in the same ways as potatoes, but unlike the potato, they can also be eaten raw. They have a similar consistency and, in their raw form, have

3822-511: The harvest of the tubers. There are also many other Jerusalem artichoke products on the market, such as supplementary feed for horses, dogs, and small animals. In Baden-Württemberg , Germany , over 90% of the Jerusalem artichoke crop is used to produce a spirit called Topinambur , the German word for Jerusalem artichoke. By the end of the 19th century, the tubers were being used in Baden to make

3900-399: The idea of packaging and labeling produce with use information and advice on storing and labeling. After selling an order containing both root ginger and Jerusalem artichokes , which Mimi Sheraton credited Caplan for branding "sunchokes", she received a complaint that customers, produce department managers, and grocery cashiers could not tell them apart, and that the sunchokes' shelf life

3978-424: The idea of packaging and labeling produce. The Washington Post said she whetted "the American appetite for dozens of once-rare fruits and vegetables that today are commonplace in groceries, kitchens and restaurants." The Los Angeles Times noted that she "broke the glass ceiling in the testosterone-doused produce world and forever changed the way Americans eat fruits and vegetables" and credited her with creating

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4056-475: The immature form of the mushroom, known as white button mushrooms . One buyer, however, said he could use them for a Thanksgiving ad. According to the Los Angeles Times , "his order was massive, and they didn't have enough in stock to fill his request." Caplan sought out the mushrooms, and found workers at a local mushroom farm packing them. She offered to help and obtained enough mushrooms to fill

4134-443: The industry", because except for Sunkist's stamping the word "Sunkist" on oranges, there had "never been any labelling or packaging" in the fresh produce industry. They started packing other produce with labels that identified the item, explained where it was from and how to tell if it was ripe, and gave contact details for Frieda's Specialty Produce. They were "flooded" with hundreds of letters each week, many of which asked how to use

4212-463: The late 1900s and early 2000s. The tuber contains about 2% protein, no oil, and little starch . It is rich in the carbohydrate inulin (8 to 13%), which is a polymer of the monosaccharide fructose . Tubers stored for any length of time convert their inulin into its component, fructose. Jerusalem artichokes have an underlying sweet taste because of the fructose, which is about one and a half times as sweet as sucrose . It has also been reported as

4290-476: The lower part of the stem but alternate towards the top. The leaves have a rough, hairy texture. Larger leaves on the lower stem are broad ovoid-acute and can be up to 30 cm (12 in) long. Leaves higher on the stem are smaller and narrower. The flowers are yellow and produced in capitate flowerheads , which are 5–10 cm (2–4 in) in diameter, with 10–20 ray florets and 60 or more small disc florets . The flowers are briefly fragrant, giving off

4368-509: The market floor. She sold the idea of carrying the fruit to the president of the Alpha Beta grocery chain by serving him and his produce supervisors a lunch featuring several courses of kiwifruit dishes. At the time, marketing fruit was a revolutionary idea. The kiwifruit was the first totally new fruit since the banana to be introduced in the US for 90 years. Caplan sold 2,400 pounds (1,100 kg) of kiwifruit in 1962. Kiwifruit became

4446-564: The market to grocery buyers, but many of them also sold items that grew particularly well in their area, that they liked, or that were used in their culture's cuisine. They had a hard time selling these items at the produce market. Since most grocery stores were not carrying them, grocery buyers were not buying them. Caplan told the Orange Country Register in 2015, "The other people on the market were only interested in high-volume items. Small farmers had no place to go. Nobody

4524-518: The most" in a produce department. In 2020, according to Graber and Twilley, there were approximately 130 produce items generally available. The New York Times noted that as late as the mid-1970s, avocados and Belgian endive were considered exotic. On the first day Caplan worked on the market floor, she saw some unsold portobello mushrooms and started trying to sell them. Most of the produce buyers for local groceries were not interested in this exotic version, as most US produce aisles carried only

4602-402: The moving mechanism for leaves exists in the pulvinus . Since flowers do not have pulvini, the movement is caused by increased growth rate of the stems. The growth rate accumulation of the stem on the east side of the stem gradually pushes the flower from east to west during daytime. This matches with the Sun as it rises from the east and falls in the west. At night, the growth rate is higher in

4680-562: The order. According to her daughter, Karen Caplan, she was eventually "credited with launching and promoting the California fresh brown mushroom market." Caplan was not particularly interested in food or produce, and she did not cook, but she enjoyed interacting with people and promoting. She began to work on the market floor more frequently. She talked with the small growers at the market—mainly small farmers—about what they were growing. Most of them primarily grew what would sell well at

4758-409: The perennials have disk flowers that are entirely yellow, but a few have disk flowers with reddish lobes. One species, H. radula , lacks ray flowers altogether. Overall, the macroevolution of the Helianthus is driven by multiple biotic and abiotic factors and influences various floral morphology. Helianthus species are used as food plants by the larvae of many lepidopterans. The growth of

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4836-561: The pest populations in nearby crop vegetation. Sunflowers attract different beneficial pollinators (e.g., honey bees) and other known insect prey to feed on and control the population of parasitic pests that could be harmful to the crops. Predacious insects are first attracted to sunflowers once they are planted. Once the Helianthus spp. reaches six inches and produces flowers it begins to attract more pollinators. Distance between sunflower rows and crop vegetation plays an important role in this phenomenon, hypothesizing that closer proximity to

4914-435: The product, and decided to start adding recipes to the labels, many of which were developed by Karen Caplan, who was by this time working full time for her mother. In the mid-1970s Frieda's introduced sugar snap peas , but grocery buyers did not understand the product which is an edible-pod sweet pea. They contacted the food writer for The Baltimore Sun , who wrote a story about the "totally edible sweet pea" and put it on

4992-460: The roots had a flavor similar to chard and was responsible for bringing the plant back to France. Sometime later, Petrus Hondius, a Dutch botanist , planted a shriveled Jerusalem artichoke tuber in his garden at Terneuzen and was surprised to see the plant proliferate. Jerusalem artichokes are so well-suited for the European climate and soil that the plant multiplies quickly. By the mid-1600s,

5070-414: The selection by pollinators is thought to have increased the sunflower's size in a drier environment. This is because in a drier environment, there are typically less pollinators. As a result, in order for the sunflower to be able to attract more pollinators, they had to increase the morphology of their floral traits in that they had to increase their display size. Another biotic factor that can explain for

5148-625: The soil. Jerusalem artichoke has low nutrient requirements and needs less nitrogen than other energy crops . The competitiveness against weeds is high, making weed control easier but also making it harder to grow a different culture afterward, since some small tubers usually remain in the ground after harvest. The plant's high competitiveness may be due to allelopathic effects, high plant size, and rapid growth rate. Crop yields are high, typically 16–20 tonnes per hectare (7–9 short ton/acre) for tubers, and 18–28 tonnes per hectare (8–12 short ton/acre) green weight for foliage. Tubers remaining in

5226-472: The specialty produce industry in the US, saying that she "almost singlehandedly created fruit and vegetable trends". University of California Cooperative Extension advisor Ben Faber, who works with specialty crops, said, "She changed our eating habits." In 1990 the Los Angeles Times named her, along with Steve Jobs and Jane Fonda , among a dozen Californians who "shaped American businesses in

5304-407: The summer and into early fall, with the peak growth season being mid-summer. Several perennial Helianthus species are grown in gardens, but have a tendency to spread rapidly and can become aggressive. On the other hand, the whorled sunflower, Helianthus verticillatus , was listed as an endangered species in 2014 when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule protecting it under

5382-473: The sun is not shining brightly, meaning that the movement is endogenous as a trained and continuous process. However, flower movement does not occur during long periods of rain or clouds. It also does not occur in a growth chamber when exposed to 16 hours of light or in greenhouses, suggesting that the plants require a directional, moving light source. Helianthus can also discriminate between different types of light. When exposed to different light frequencies,

5460-451: The sunflowers' floral traits. An ecosystem is composed of both biotic (which are living elements of an ecosystem such as plants, animals, fungi, protists, and bacteria), and abiotic factors (non-living elements of an ecosystem such as air, soil, water, light, salinity and temperature). It is thought that two biotic factors can explain for the evolution of larger sunflowers and why they are present in more drier environments. For one thing,

5538-400: The time they are mature and reach anthesis , Helianthus generally stop moving and remain facing east, which lets them be warmed by the rising sun. Historically, this has led to controversy on whether or not Helianthus is heliotropic, as many scientists have failed to observe movement when studying plants that have already bloomed. This is notably different from heliotropism in leaves, as

5616-566: The time, women in the US were unable to apply for credit themselves. She was then the only woman working the floor of the market, and according to Entrepreneur , the first woman to "launch, own and operate a wholesale business in the male-dominated US produce industry." She opened the business on April 2, 1962, and began by selling "four or five" items and became "the go-to distributor for anyone offering something unusual." In 1962, her first year doing business as Frieda's Specialty Produce, she began promoting kiwifruit , then known by

5694-491: The tuber, the word now used in French, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, and Spanish. According to Iroquois mythology , the first sunchokes grew out of Earth Woman's feet after she died giving birth to her twin sons, Sapling and Flint . Jerusalem artichokes were first cultivated by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas , though the exact native range of the species is unknown. Genome analysis has ruled out

5772-506: The west side of the stem that gradually pushes the flower from the west side back to the east side. In addition, it is not actually the whole plant that changes its direction to face the Sun, but the flower itself that bends to be illuminated by the Suns rays. The heliotropic movement is caused by growth on the opposite side of the flower, driven by accumulation of growth hormones during Sun exposure. Heliotropism persists on cloudy days when

5850-515: Was corrupted by English-speakers to Jerusalem. An alternative explanation for the name is that the Puritans , when they came to the New World , named the plant with regard to the "New Jerusalem" they believed they were creating in the wilderness. Various other names have been applied to the plant, such as the French or Canada potato, topinambour , and lambchoke. Sunroot is a literal translation of

5928-421: Was interested. So I started listening to all these small farmers." When farmers approached buyers with unusual fruits or vegetables, they were told to talk to Caplan. In the early 1960s, premises next door to Giumarra Brothers became vacant. Encouraged by the market's landlord, Southern Pacific Railroad , Caplan took over the spot. Her father had to co-sign a loan for her to start her business; typically at

6006-599: Was similar to that of an artichoke . The name topinambur , in one account, dates from 1615, when a member of the Brazilian coastal tribe called the Tupinambá visited the Vatican at the same time that a sample of the tuber from Canada was on display there, presented as a critical food source that helped French Canadian settlers survive the winter. The New World connection resulted in the name topinambur being applied to

6084-444: Was too short. She started packaging the sunchokes in 1-pound (0.45 kg) plastic bags to identify them and to improve shelf life, with a recipe attached, an approach which was unheard of at the time. According to Karen Caplan, "six times as many sunchokes were sold because my mom put them in a package". According to Graber and Twilley, "this was the first real label" and the first packaged produce. According to Caplan, it "stunned

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