Theherbaceous plant isperennial. It can reach heights of up to3 metres (9.8 ft). Theleaves are oval, and grow to7 centimetres (2.8 in) to10 centimetres (3.9 in) wide, and10 centimetres (3.9 in) to25 centimetres (9.8 in) long. The plant has been imported toEurope, and it is seen as aninvasive species - fewanimals eat it, and it will take away the space of other plants. This means that often, there is uncontrolled growth.
In the 1980s, the Jerusalem artichoke also gained some notoriety when its seeds were planted by midwestern US farmers at the prodding of an agriculturalpyramid scheme. There was little market for the tuber in that part of the US at the time, but farmers were assured it would soon appear on thecommodity market. The only profits were realized by the initial distributors and the first few levels of farmers (who sold their seeds to other levels of the pyramid). As a result, many of the farms that had planted large quantities of thecrop were ruined.[3][4]
