Vegetable? Looks like smallanthus, a shade flower at my house... If you planted a veggie, maybe Yacón? (Smallanthus Sonchifolius)
no guarantee it is a veggie - found it while on a stroll through a communal vegetable garden - simple silly assumption on my part that all plants contained there-in were vegetable.... Smallanthus sonchifolius looks correct! thanks a bunch.
That's a new vegetable for me. Interesting. Wonder if this grows in Vancouver? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yac%C3%B3n
It was growing in Palo Alto. Now I want to taste it! Maybe Stone can tell us a bit about the flavor. Eric Wikipedia says it is a root vegetable that will only survive "gentle frosts". Guess that makes it a bit out of range for you guys up there.
hmm - the article suggests that a diligent gardener might be able to grow it in Canada: "the propagating roots can be kept in the refrigerator or buried away from frost until spring. While usable-sized tubers develop fairly early, they taste much sweeter after some frost."
The wiki says "light frost" so... unlikely... Maybe you can cross them with the bear's foot flower (Smallanthus uvedalius) to increase hardiness? As this guy seems to have done: http://radix4roots.blogspot.com/2010/09/yacon-i-am-spartacus.html Smallanthus seems to stop at the Canadian border... Might have to smuggle yall some seed. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SMUV The native smallanthus has the same tubers... just not as large.
Hmm - sweet with no nutritional value, pass thru the human body unmetabolized, except that they're used by body-friendly bacteria. You'd think this would already be used in non-sugar sweeteners.
I wish I could... It's still on my wish list, along with oca tubers and turmeric. I found the article that raised my awareness about this plant. David Frary seems to be raising them in London without difficulty... http://downtheplot.com/yacon.php
