Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Cynara cardunculus subsp. cardunculus

Cynara cardunculus subsp. flavescens
Photo is of parent taxon

artichoke
Photo is of parent taxon

cardoon
Leaves

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

armed with spines 1–3 cm.
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.

phyllaries acute to short-acuminate at apex with point 10–21 mm and spine tip 2–5(–6) mm, distal margins with prominent yellowish margins 0.5–1+ mm.
2n

= 34.

Cynara cardunculus subsp. cardunculus

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

Artichoke thistle is a noxious weed that tends to spread aggressively in overgrazed range lands and may invade undisturbed natural vegetation as well. Dense infestations form pure stands, sometimes several hec-tares in extent. The long, needlelike spines deter herbivores and the large rosettes suppress the growth of other plants. Vigorous root sprouts can develop from fragments of the deep taproots left in the soil by cultivation or mechanical clearing.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 19, p. 90. FNA vol. 19, p. 90.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Cardueae > Cynara > Cynara cardunculus Asteraceae > tribe Cardueae > Cynara > Cynara cardunculus
Sibling taxa
C. cardunculus subsp. flavescens
C. cardunculus subsp. cardunculus
Synonyms C. cardunculus var. scolymus, C. scolymus
Name authority unknown Wiklund: Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 109: 120, fig. 15A–D, F–J. (1992)
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).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers