Crosne
Crosne: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
Crosne, or Chinese artichoke, is Stachys affinis, a perennial in the mint family, Lamiaceae. Despite its French name crosne du Japon, its native range includes China and neighbouring parts of Asia. Other common names include Japanese artichoke and knotroot. This vegetable is mainly known for its small white tubers, whose segmented shape looks very different from a potato and gives the crop a distinctive appearance.The edible organs are swellings of underground stems, rather than thickened roots. Elongated, irregular and narrowed between successive sections, they resemble little strings of beads. Their thin skin is pale, ranging from white to ivory. Size and the number of swellings vary between individual tubers. The knobbly outline is a normal feature of the vegetable, rather than a sign that the tuber has grown incorrectly or suffered damage.Above ground, the plant forms a clump of square stems that can reach around 60 cm. Its opposite green…
