GrowNativePlants Plant Directory

Jerusalem Artichoke

Helianthus tuberosus

KeystoneBird foodPollinator plant

Jerusalem Artichoke

(c) Tero Laakso, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

Growing it

When
JFMAMJJASONDFlowers August to September; fruits in OctoberFlowers August to September; fruits in October
Typewildflower
SunFull sun, partial shade
WaterLow, medium
SoilpH 5.5–7.5
Hardinesszone 3–8
Mature height2.5 m
Mature spread0.9 m
Spacing0.6 m
Years to maturity1
BloomAug–Sep
Flower colourYellow read from a published flora
In bloomAugust September
FruitOct
Native toSK

egg-shaped leaves about 20 cm long in opposite pairs

Where it has been recorded

EdmontonCalgaryFort McMurrayGrande PrairieLethbridgeSaskatoonReginaPrince AlbertABSKBCMBrecords per square12-45-1920-99100+
4 squares of about 28 km, each holding at least one record. A square is not a claim that the plant grows throughout it, and an unshaded square is unrecorded rather than empty. Darker squares hold more records, which follows roads and towns as much as it follows the plant. 3 herbarium specimens and 1 field observation this project may redraw. A filled dot is a pressed sheet somebody can re-examine; a hollow ring is a photograph identified by community agreement. Where the dots are dense is where people have looked, not where the plant is commonest, and empty ground is unsurveyed rather than unoccupied. How this map is made.

Which ecoregions the records fall in

Aspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceAspen Parkland (central AB / SK), low confidenceEdmontonCalgaryFort McMurrayGrande PrairieLethbridgeSaskatoonReginaPrince AlbertABSKBCMBAspen Parkland

These are counts of records collected somewhere in the region, which is the resolution of the evidence: the map above shows where inside it. A region with 3 records is not the same claim as one with three hundred, so the count travels with the region. A region missing from this list means nobody has recorded it there, which is not the same as the plant being absent. Records within 900 m of a border count for neither side, because the border is not drawn finely enough to say which one they are on. Source: GBIF occurrence search + PRESERVED_SPECIMEN pass, retrieved 2026-08-24. Boundaries digitised from the National Ecological Framework for Canada v2.2 (Ecological Stratification Working Group 1995), simplified to about 900 m for display: an outline is accurate to roughly a kilometre, not to the metre. How these counts are made.

See every observation, live and current, on GBIF or iNaturalist.

Documented animals

28 documented relationships.

nectar for

pollen for

seed for

caterpillar host for

Also worth knowing

Safety

Toxicity not assessed, absence of a warning is not a guarantee of safety

Edible parts

Tuber

Buying it

About $8–$16 per plant (estimate), usually from a native-plant nursery. Estimate (herb default); AB retail as of 2026

Where these numbers came from

  • Flower detail: not verified, a genus-level estimate