sunroot

English

Etymology

sun +‎ root (because it is the root of a variety of sunflower); the winner of a March 23, 1918 contest by Gardeners' Chronicle to name the edible tuber of Helianthus tuberosus. The winning entry was announced on June 8, 1918.

Noun

sunroot (countable and uncountable, plural sunroots)

1. Synonym of Jerusalem artichoke (both the plant and the edible root)
   • 1994, Monthly Bulletin - Volumes 65-69, page 67:

     Cultivating your own sunroots is easy! — a lot easier, in fact, than getting rid of this perennial sunflower once it's become established.

   • 1995, C. E. Voigt, Vegetable Gardening in the Midwest, page 80:

     Sunroots almost always produce so abundantly that variety sharing is possible after the first year.

   • 2010, Myles H. Bader, The Wizard of Food's Encyclopedia of Kitchen & Cooking Secrets:

     The sunroot contains a number of indigestible carbohydrates that cause flatulence in susceptible individuals.

   • 2018, Peter Sagan, My World:

     Sunroot also has the benefit of being naturally sweet, so it doesn't need sugar added to it in a lot of recipes.

Anagrams

• Routons, Routson, unroost, unroots