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Cynara scolymus

Common name:	Globe Artichoke	Family:	Compositae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Not known in the wild, it probably arose from a form of C. cardunculus.
Habitat:	Not known in the wild.
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	5

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. cardunculus subsp. cardunculus[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Alcachofa [E], Alcachofera [E], Artichaut [E], Artichoke [E], Globe Artichoke [B,P,H], Tyosen-Azami [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Dominican Republic; Europe; Haiti; Mexico; Spain

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1.5m by 1m . It is hardy to zone 6 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from August to September, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 5/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge.

Cultivar 'Grande Beurre': Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge.
Cultivar 'Green Globe Improved': Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Curdling agent; Flowers; Leaves; Stem.

Flower buds - raw or cooked[2, 7, 15, 16, 27, 37, 183]. Used before the flowers open[171]. The flavour is mild and pleasant[K]. Gobe artichokes are considered to be a gourmet food but they are very fiddly to eat. The buds are harvested just before the flowers open, they are then usually boiled before being eaten. Only the base of each bract is eaten, plus the 'heart' or base that the petals grow from [K]. Small, or baby artichokes, that are produced on lateral stems can be pickled or used in soups and stews[183]. Plants yield about 5 to 6 main heads per year from their second year onwards[200].
Flowering stems - peeled and eaten raw or cooked. A sweet nutty flavour[183].
Young leaf stems - a celery substitute[200]. They are normally blanched to remove the bitterness and then boiled or eaten raw[183]. We find them too bitter to be enjoyable[K].
Leaves - cooked. A bitter flavour[15, 61].
The dried flowers are a rennet substitute, used for curdling plant milks[4, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anticholesterolemic; Antirheumatic; Cholagogue; Digestive; Diuretic; Hypoglycaemic; Lithontripic.

The globe artichoke has become important as a medicinal herb in recent years following the discovery of cynarin. This bitter-tasting compound, which is found in the leaves, improves liver and gall bladder function, stimulates the secretion of digestive juices, especially bile, and lowers blood cholesterol levels[238, 254].
The leaves are anticholesterolemic, antirheumatic, cholagogue, digestive, diuretic, hypoglycaemic and lithontripic[7, 21, 165]. They are used internally in the treatment of chronic liver and gall bladder diseases, jaundice, hepatitis, arteriosclerosis and the early stages of late-onset diabetes[238, 254]. The leaves are best harvested just before the plant flowers, and can be used fresh or dried[238].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

Dye.

A dark grey dye is obtained from the leaves[7].

Cultivation details

Prefers a light warm soil and an open position in full sun[15, 16, 33, 37]. Requires plenty of moisture in the growing season and a good rich soil[200]. Prefers a sheltered position[200] but plants are reasonably wind resistant[K]. Plants are tolerant of saline conditions[4].
Plants succeed in cool climates though they may need protection in cold winters[200], they are unlikely to thrive in the north of Britain. Wet winters are far more likely to cause problems than cold ones[4, K].
The globe artichoke is often cultivated in the garden and sometimes commercially for its edible flower buds, there are some named varieties[183, 200]. It is best to renew the plants by division of the suckers every 3 years but they do live for a number of years[200].
The plant has recently been reclassified (1999) as not having specific status but being part of C. cardunculus. However, since it is distinct enough from the gardener's viewpoint (having a much larger seedhead) we have decided to leave it with its own entry for the time being[K].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[233].
The flowering plant is a magnet for bees[108].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse. Germination is usually quick and good, prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions during the summer. It would be prudent to give the plants some winter protection in their first year.
The seed can also be sown in situ in April. Sow the seed 2cm deep, putting 2 or 3 seeds at each point that you want a plant[1]. Protect the seed from mice[1].
Division of suckers. This is best done in November and the suckers overwintered in a cold frame then planted out in April. Division can also be carried out in March/April with the divisions being planted out straight into their permanent positions, though the plants will be smaller in their first year.

Cultivars

'Green Globe': The plant produces large heads that are nearly round and with a dusky purplish tint[183]. It has thick highly flavoured scales[183]. The receptacles are very fleshy, more so than in most cultivars[183]. Plants grow 1.2 - 1.8 metres tall and up to 2.4 metres wide[183]. Mature plants yield 12 - 20 buds each[183]. Seedlings are very uniform[183]. They can produce a crop in their first year[183].
'Green Globe Improved': The plant produces large globe-shaped heads, up to 10cm in diameter, that are deep-green throughout with no tint of purple[183]. Growing 1.3 - 1.5 metres tall, they are consistently heavy bearing and can produce a crop in their first year from seed[183]. The number of sharp spines is greatly reduced, making harvesting easier[183].
'Grande Beurre': The plant produces large flattened spineless heads that are very consistent in size[183]. They are fleshy and delicious[183]. Growing to 2.4 metres tall, it has been selected for its ability to crop in its first year from seed and is sometimes grown as an annual[183].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[R] Rainforest medicinal Data (common names, medicinal uses, images) from the Rain-Tree.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Cynara cardunculus subsp. cardunculus (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.

References for cynara scolymus (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[15] Bryan. J. and Castle. C. Edible Ornamental Garden. Pitman Publishing 1976 ISBN 0-273-00098-5
A small book with interesting ideas for edible plants in the ornamental garden.

[16] Simons. New Vegetable Growers Handbook. Penguin 1977 ISBN 0-14-046-050-0
A good guide to growing vegetables in temperate areas, not entirely organic.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[27] Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press ISBN 0-89815-041-8
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.

[33] Organ. J. Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. Faber 1960
Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.

[37] Thompson. B. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son. 1878
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers Comments

Plant Rennet

Rich (pfaf@scs.leeds.ac.uk) Sat Apr 15 16:59:27 2000

According to VegSoc, in the past, fig leaves, melon, wild thistle and safflower have all supplied plant rennets for cheese making.

agsieve also has information about another plant source, using the juice from the plant as a coagulant.

Cross references: Plants: Asclepias eriocarpa, Carduus nutans, Carthamnus tinctorius, Cirsium arvense, Cirsium vulgare, Cynara cardunculus, Drosera rotundifolia, Ficus carica, Galega officinalis, Galium verum, Fumaria officinalis, Oxalis acetosella, Pinguicula vulgaris, Pyrularia edulis , Rhus chinensis, Rumex acetosa, Urtica dioica, Withania somnifera.

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.