Now that it’s the middle of September yellow leaves are either on or falling off many different trees. Virginia creeper vines are getting redder and so are poison ivy vines. And wild sunflowers, commonly called sunchokes or Jerusalem artichokes, are topped with yellow flowers.

Jerusalem artichokes have nothing to do with Jerusalem or artichokes. The Jerusalem part of the common name is a bastardization of the Italian word girasole, meaning sunflower. And the artichoke name came about because early Europeans thought their tubers, which are highly edible and very healthy, tasted like artichokes.

This flower of a Jerusalem artichoke was found growing along a trail of New Jersey's Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area. These yellow-flowered plants have edible tubers and a fascinating etymo

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