Cynara cardunculus

Cultivation

There are two main cultivar groups in the Cynara cardunculus complex, both derived from the wild cardoon (C. cardunculus var. sylvestris (Lam.) Fiori): the cultivated cardoon (Cynara cardunculus Cardoon Group, syn. C. cardunculus var. altilis DC), selected for edible leaf stems, and the artichoke (Cynara cardunculus Scolymus Group, sometimes distinguished as Cynara scolymus or C. cardunculus var. scolymus (L.) Fiori), selected for larger edible flower buds. They differ from the wild plant in being larger (up to 2 m tall), much less spiny, and with thicker leaf stems and larger flowers, all characteristics selected by humans for greater crop yield and easier harvest and processing. Wild and cultivated cardoons and artichokes are very similar genetically, and are fully interfertile, but have only very limited ability to form hybrids with other species in the genus Cynara.