# Educate me on one of the finer points of botany, please (Brussels sprouts) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 14, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289 "2013-05-14T03:33:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/21 "2013-05-14T22:14:03Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Who do you think invented the Kol Nidrei? Does that mean we don’t have to pay to keep our Charter Member status? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/22 "2013-05-14T22:36:01Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Just eat your damn Brussels sprouts. > > They’re quite tasty steamed or sauteed, you know. I had to, our darn dog wouldn’t eat them. Otherwise, he’d lick the pattern off the linoleum to get every last molecule of _dropped_ food. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/23 "2013-05-14T23:24:57Z")
I thought brussels sprouts turned into flowers. If let mature, will their leaves do photosynthesis? What does a mature stalk of them look like - it seems they are always harvested before they reach maturity. I know that artichokes really are flowers, but has anyone seen a fully blossomed artichoke? Also, what happens to pineapples when they reach maturity? Good thread! ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/24 "2013-05-14T23:32:31Z")
Yes, I’ve seen plenty of artichokes left unharvested that then bloomed. Artichokes are giant thistles. Here you go: [https://www.google.com/search?q=bloomed+artichoke&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=McmSUbm2COWTiAKd9YDwAw&sqi=2&ved=0CC4QsAQ&biw=1398&bih=833](https://www.google.com/search?q=bloomed+artichoke&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=McmSUbm2COWTiAKd9YDwAw&sqi=2&ved=0CC4QsAQ&biw=1398&bih=833) ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/25 "2013-05-14T23:44:21Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Yes, I’ve seen plenty of artichokes left unharvested that then bloomed. Artichokes are giant thistles. > > Here you go: > > [bloomed artichoke - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=bloomed+artichoke&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=McmSUbm2COWTiAKd9YDwAw&sqi=2&ved=0CC4QsAQ&biw=1398&bih=833) Purtty. Someone musta been seriously hungry at one point to try and eat one of those - only a small portion is for eating. Of course, people would also say Brussels sprouts/cabbage, etc. are not for eating at all. (I think they are missing out). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/26 "2013-05-15T00:54:07Z")
Jerusalem artichokes-whatever those are-were popular with the Mother Earth News in the seventies and eighties. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/27 "2013-05-15T01:32:19Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Purtty. Someone musta been seriously hungry at one point to try and eat one of those - only a small portion is for eating. Of course, people would also say Brussels sprouts/cabbage, etc. are not for eating at all. (I think they are missing out). I’m afraid I might have to blame my mother’s indifferent cooking skills (not to take anything away from her awesome feat of successfully nourishing ten kids through to adulthood) for my current hesitation to give Brussels sprouts another chance. Anyway, since the GQ portion has been answered, perhaps a move to Cafe society is in order. Let me make the request. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/28 "2013-05-15T02:53:33Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Yes, I’ve seen plenty of artichokes left unharvested that then bloomed. Artichokes are giant thistles. When we used to grow artichokes (we had three plants), I always left a few unpicked because the blooms looked so cool. Side note: they told us we’d get nothing the first year, a few the second, and a decent harvest the third year. With three plants, I got a paper grocery sack of artichokes the first year, three sacks the second year, and more than I could conceivably eat the third year. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/29 "2013-05-15T03:14:03Z")
Yes, but were they _Jerusalem_ Artichokes? 🙂 Mrs. Plant (v. 3.0) and I had them when we were kids in 1982 or thereabouts. As I recall, we dipped them in butter. How do you artichokes aficionados eat them? Hollandaise would be nice. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/30 "2013-05-15T03:27:08Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Yes, but were they _Jerusalem_ Artichokes? 🙂 > > Mrs. Plant (v. 3.0) and I had them when we were kids in 1982 or thereabouts. > As I recall, we dipped them in butter. > > How do you artichokes aficionados eat them? > > Hollandaise would be nice. Jerusalem artichokes really don’t have anything to do with artichokes. They’re also called sunchokes and are tubers, like potatoes, although not quite as starchy. They can be roasted, mashed, made into chips, put in a salad, pickled, etc. I’m not exactly sure why they are called “artichokes” at all, as they don’t resemble them in any way I could tell. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/31 "2013-05-15T04:06:36Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Anyway, since the GQ portion has been answered, perhaps a move to Cafe society is in order. Let me make the request. Probably not necessary unless this develops into a recipe thread.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/32 "2013-05-15T04:21:42Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > It is said that a hard frost before picking really improves the flavor, Sauteing them in bacon fat will improve the flavor as well. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/33 "2013-05-15T11:17:48Z")
It is actually possible to persuade individual brussels sprouts to root- someone I know is easily bored, and is trying to find out what happens if you plant them. So far, they’ve only developed an appalling smell (the outer leaves rotted) and some roots, so I don’t know what they’ll do next- grow into the same shape as the original plant? Flower? Just grow bigger like a cabbage? Any guesses? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/34 "2013-05-15T12:15:55Z")
They should open up, produce a little spike of yellow flowers, then go to seed - the plant is a biennial and by the time it’s producing sprouts, is on the gallop towards reproduction and senescence. Frankly, I’m a little bit amazed anyone managed to get a brassica cutting to root - was this on a gel substrate? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/35 "2013-05-15T12:18:53Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:28, topic:658289”] When we used to grow artichokes (we had three plants), I always left a few unpicked because the blooms looked so cool. Side note: they told us we’d get nothing the first year, a few the second, and a decent harvest the third year. With three plants, I got a paper grocery sack of artichokes the first year, three sacks the second year, and more than I could conceivably eat the third year. [/QUOTE] > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Yes, but were they _Jerusalem_ Artichokes? 🙂 I’m guessing Gary is talking about globe artichokes - as the flowers on Jerusalem arrtichokes are just yellow daisies that always look dreadfully small in proportion to the rest of the plant. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/36 "2013-05-15T13:55:26Z")
Yes, I am. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/37 "2013-05-21T19:55:34Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’m guessing Gary is talking about globe artichokes - as the flowers on Jerusalem arrtichokes are just yellow daisies that always look dreadfully small in proportion to the rest of the plant. They’re actually little sunflowers. Sunflower in Spanish is girasole, which somehow got corrupted to “Jerusalem” in English. They were called “artichoke” because the tuber has a very slightly similar taste to artichokes. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/38 "2013-05-21T20:26:33Z")
Indeed (sunflowers are just big daisies). I grow Jerusalem Artichokes every year - mainly by accident, because no matter how diligently I dig, I always miss a few tubers and they pop up again the following year. They don’t always flower here in the UK though - only if we have a warmer than average summer. ---
**Author:** ![MsBatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@MsBatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsBatt)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/39 "2014-11-23T22:04:34Z")
I know this is an old thread, but since all the talk about Jerusalem artichokes came up, some might benefit from my experience with them. Left unchecked, mine have grown to over 10’ tall—if they stood up. Mine flop. This year, I cut them back almost to the soil level when they were about 15" tall. (I was hoping to kill them.) I cut them back to about 12" tall when they got to three feet, or about 6 weeks later, and I cut them one last time about 2 months after that. They flowered much more attractively at their final height of about 6’. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289/40 "2014-11-24T02:08:50Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Same species, actually. > > The cabbage _Brassica oleracea_ has a very large number of distinct cultivars. Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, collard greens, cauliflower, and kohlrabi all belong to the same botanical species. I once spent a pleasant evening on Wikipedia reading all about the brassica family. I think it’s really amazing so many seemingly different plants are so related. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-on-one-of-the-finer-points-of-botany-please-brussels-sprouts/658289.md?page=3)