H. tuberosus was cultivated by native peoples in northeastern states, selecting for larger tubers. However, wild plants in Ky. and Ind. (D) generally have relatively small tubers (up to ca. 1 cm thick), and tubers often appear absent in summer, especially on drier sites. More tuberous plants were collected by French explorers from northeastern regions in 1607 and bred further in Mexico or Europe (but rarely flowering in western Europe). They became widely grown for food as the "Jerusalem Artichoke" (up to ca. 5 cm thick), which is a corrupted common name based the Italian "girasole" (turning to the sun), These plants then returned to North America (C.B. Heiser in Ford 1985; Heiser et al. 1969; Kays & Nottingham 2008). Many cultivars are reported but their documentation and description remains somewhat obscure, generally without herbarium vouchers (e.g. Chekroun et al. 1996, Puttha et al. 2012). Plants of Jerusalem Artichoke are usually more robust than wild plants of tuberosus in Ky., up to 2.5-3 m tall. Leaves are up to 30 x 20 cm and sometimes slightly lobed. In much of Europe, plants are considered invasive, but in Britain: "It flowers very late, if at all, and only after long hot summers in areas with very low rainfall; it seldom sets good seed" (BSBI 2024).