Sunflower tubers are Jerusalem Artichoke, also called Sun Choke, or the other variety of tuber, which is White Fuseau. The Sun Choke, is knobby round, the Fuseau is formed like an Idaho potato.
The tuber Sunflowers have no eating seed. The energy of the plant goes to growing the tubers, not the flowers. It doesn’t need seed since the tuber is the reproduction of the plant. One could say the tuber is the seed.
My resources say that, since they are not being grown for seed, to remove the flower buds, so the energy goes into the tubers, rather than ‘useless’ flowers robbing part of it, resulting in smaller tubers..