 This plant was introduced to North America simultaneously by the French colonists in Canada and the British in the Thirteen Colonies for use as a root vegetable, but in the mid-19th century, it was replaced as the main source of starch by the potato and consequently was less widely cultivated.In 1859, a new cultivar called 'Student' was developed by James Buckman at the Royal Agricultural College in England.He back-crossed cultivated plants to wild stock, aiming to demonstrate how native plants could be improved by selective breeding.