Meanwhile in Quebec, they call them patates

Not just French

And orange is a Chinese apple

Some German speakers say "Erdapfel" which is literally "earth apple."

We also have a potato-like : word "patate". "Pomme de terre" is déformation of "parmetière" from the name of M.Parmentier who introduce potatoes to the french population.

There was a time when "pomme" was used to name any fruit.

I think "ground apples" would better apply to jicama.

Dug up from the ground, somewhat sweet, can be eaten raw or cooked, apple-like in texture...

good tasting apples are a relatively recent thing. They are one of the fruits where a good tasting one is rare and then has to propagated with grafts. Apples that grow from seed are not that great and before a certain point was mainly turned into cider and vinegar and such.

Have you ever bitten into a road apple?

People come up with funny names for things sometimes.