Globe Artichoke

A thistle-like perennial (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) domesticated in the western Mediterranean, likely from wild cardoon, and cultivated since antiquity for its large, immature flower buds, whose fleshy bract bases and inner heart are eaten before the flower opens. Italy, Spain and other Mediterranean countries remain the world's leading producers, though the crop is also grown commercially in California, which supplies most of the fresh artichoke market in the United States. The plant can be grown as a perennial in mild climates, yielding for several years from the same rootstock, or as an annual in cooler regions where winters are too harsh for it to survive.