Cardoon
Cynara cardunculus is a complex of biennial herbaceous plant species in the Asteraceae family, includingartichoke and cardoon (wild and cultivated), native to the Mediterranean basin. It is in fact an improved member of the thistle family.
Within this complex of cultivars and wild forms, we can distinguish:
The cultivatedartichoke (C. cardunculus var. scolymus, syn. = C. scolymus L.) is a vegetable plant cultivated for its "head", the flower head inflorescence, harvested before the flowers develop;
Cultivated cardoon (C. cardunculus var. altilis, syn. = Cynara cardunculus L. subsp. cardunculus), is a vegetable grown for its fleshy "ribs" (petiole and developed main vein of the leaves) eaten as a vegetable;
Wild cardoon (C. cardunculus var. sylvestris).()
