| Artichoke | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Cynara |
| Species: | |
| Variety: | C. c. var. scolymus
|
| Trinomial name | |
| Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus | |
The artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus),[1] also known by the names French artichoke, globe artichoke, and green artichoke in the United States,[2] is a variety of a species of thistle cultivated as food.
The edible portion of the plant consists of the flower buds before the flowers come into bloom. The budding artichoke flower-head is a cluster of many budding small flowers (an inflorescence), together with many bracts, on an edible base. Once the buds bloom, the structure changes to a coarse, barely edible form. Another variety of the same species is the cardoon, a perennial plant native to the Mediterranean region. Both wild forms and cultivated varieties (cultivars) exist.
- ^ Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58.
- ^ "Artichokes History". /What's Cooking America. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 2019-02-08.