Stachys affinis seeds Chinese artichoke seeds chorogi knotroot artichoke

LATIN NAME: Stachys affinis

COMMON NAME: Chinese Artichoke

The Chinese artichoke is the white knob of the winter kitchen, and the small, pink-purple flowers open in the loose whorls along the stems. The upright, leafy, perennial herb carries the lance-shaped, toothed, green leaves and the whorls of the small, pink-purple, two-lipped flowers through the late summer, one of the fine, quiet sights of the herb bed, to be followed by the chains of the small, white, knobbly tubers beneath the ground. The tubers have a long record as the fine, crisp winter vegetable of the old tables, and the plant is a fine, generous presence of the kitchen garden. It is a plant of the open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The Chinese artichoke is a historic subject of the plant science, and the white knobs keep showing up in the work on the tuber vegetables. The way the chains of the small, white tubers form beneath the ground has been studied steadily, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the tuber vegetables, the winter roots and the members of the mint family. The lance-shaped leaves and the upright habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the Chinese artichoke is a regular subject of the work on the white knobs of the cool world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The Chinese artichoke is a fine, generous plant of the kitchen garden and the herb bed. The chains of the small, white, knobbly tubers have a long record as the fine, crisp winter vegetable of the old tables, the young tubers lifted and eaten raw in the salads or tossed into the warm dishes of the winter kitchen, with the fine, nutty crunch, while the whorls of the small, pink-purple, two-lipped flowers open through the late summer. The plant is one of the fine choices for the kitchen garden, the herb bed and the study collection, and it has been written about in the culinary and the botanical papers for the white knobs and the crisp ways. It is a fine, generous plant of the open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained garden.

Give the young plants the deep, moist bed, and the white knobs will form in the first winter.

To grow the Chinese artichoke from seed, sow the small, round seeds just below the surface of a pot of fine, gritty soil, keep the pot in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings appear within a couple of weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun and the deep, moist, well-drained ground, the white knobs will come in the winter.

A sprawling plant with rough, light green leaves. It produces small, fleshy, edible roots that are often pickled or stir-fried in Asian cooking. It is also found in markets under its French name, crosnes. A medicinal herb as well.