Flora of North America species comparison

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Cynara cardunculus subsp. cardunculus
Photo is of parent taxon

artichoke
Leaves

armed with spines 1–3 cm or unarmed or nearly so in some cultivated forms.
Middle

phyllaries acuminate at apex with point 22–38 mm and spine tip 6–9 mm, or in some cultivated forms broadly obtuse to truncate and mucronate with or without spine tip 1–2 mm, distal margins with or without indistinct yellowish margins.
2n

= 34.

Cynara cardunculus subsp. cardunculus
Phenology Flowering spring–summer (Apr–Jul).
Habitat Disturbed areas in sea bluffs, grasslands, coastal scrub, open woodlands, roadsides
Elevation 0–500 m (0–1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; e Mediterranean region [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The artichoke, selected for reduced spines on both leaves and phyllaries, and for enlarged heads, sometimes escapes in disturbed habitats. These plants are usually propagated vegetatively for uniform crop characteristics. When grown from seed, however, reversions to the much spinier wild types occur spontaneously and may have given rise to some of the forms of artichoke thistles. Additionally, intermediates may arise through hybridization of cultivated and wild races.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 19, p. 90.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Cardueae > Cynara > Cynara cardunculus
Sibling taxa
C. cardunculus subsp. flavescens
Synonyms C. cardunculus var. scolymus, C. scolymus
Name authority unknown
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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