Japanese name: キクイモ（菊芋） Scientific name:Helianthus tuberosus
[Overview]
A perennial 1–2 m tall.
It has underground tubers.
The whole plant is densely covered with coarse hairs and feels rough.
The stem branches in the upper part.
Leaves are simple, opposite in the lower part of the stem and alternate in the upper part, oblong, with a coarsely toothed margin.
A single flower head about 8 cm across is borne facing upward at the branch tip.
The flower head consists of ray florets and tubular florets; there are 10–20 ray florets around the edge, which are yellow with tips divided into 3–5 lobes.
The tubular florets are also yellow.
The fruit is an achene.
[History]
It is said to have already arrived in Japan by the Edo period, and plants introduced after the Meiji era for food and alcohol production have escaped and naturalized in various places.
[Uses]
The tubers are used as food and as a raw material for alcohol, among other things.
[Notes]
It is designated as an alien species requiring caution under the Invasive Alien Species Act.
