sunroot

Coined in a March 23, 1918 contest by Gardeners' Chronicle to name the edible tuber of Helianthus tuberosus. Sunroot, based on the fact that this is the root of a variety of sunflower, was the winning entry, announced on June 8, 1918.

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.

• Routons, Routson, unroost, unroots