Yacon
Smallanthus sonchifolius
Also called Peruvian ground apple and Bolivian sunroot
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitTWO KINDS OF TUBER AND YOU MUST NOT CONFUSE THEM. The big smooth brown ones are the crop, sweet and crisp like a pear; the small knobbly pink ones at the crown are next year's plants and are inedible. Lift after the first frost, keep the crowns frost-free.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Medium
- Water
- Every 3 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Full sun
- Feed
- Every 30 days
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Tender — no frost at all RHS H2, to 1°C
- Size
- 2 m tall · 1 m across
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Origin
- The Andes
Is it safe for pets and people?
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Neither authority names Smallanthus. That is an absence and not a clean bill. Note that the small knobbly crown tubers are propagation material and are not eaten.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Small knobbly pink lumps clustered tight at the crown, mixed in with the crop. Those are next year's plants and they are not food — the crop is the big smooth brown ones hanging well below them.The wrong tubers eaten · disorder
- Nothing comes up in spring from a clump left in the ground. The crowns are not frost hardy — lift them with the crop and store them dry and frost-free.Crowns lost over winter · disorder