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Cynara cardunculus
The giant, thistle-like cardoon, Cynara cardunculus (Asteraceae), is a statuesque perennial equally suited to both the vegetable garden and perennial border.
Native around the Mediterranean region, cardoons are thought to be the wild progenitors of the globe artichoke, Cynara scolymus - a plant only known in cultivation. The fleshy leaf bases of the cardoon are sometimes eaten cooked or raw, like celery. Both artichokes and cardoons have specialized bracts (phyllaries) that surround each composite flower head, the inner, soft base of which is edible in the artichoke. The name Cynara comes from the Greek kyon, a dog, a reference to the tooth-shaped phyllaries.
