Cynara (Globe
Artichoke and Cardoon)
Life
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Archaeoplastida >
Chloroplastida
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> Eudicotyledons > Core Eudicots > Asterids >
Euasterid II > Family: Asteraceae > Tribe:
Cynareae
About 10 species, native to the Mediterranean region, NW
Africa and the Canary Islands. Leaves are formed in clumps and the flowerhead is
thistle-like (the genus belongs to the same tribe as thistles).
Species cultivated in southern Africa
List from
Glen (2002).
Cynara
cardunculus (Cardoon) The
fleshy leaf bases are eaten as a vegetable and the dried flowers are used
for curdling milk. Originates from southern Europe and Northwest Africa. |
|
Cynara
scolymus (Globe Artichoke) The
flowerhead is eaten as a vegetable. A cultigen species, probably derived
from the Cynara carduncellus (Cardoon) which originates from
southern Europe and North Africa. |
|
Text by Hamish Robertson |
