Artichoke (redirected from Artichokes)

artichoke, name for two different plants of the family Asteraceae (aster family), both having edible parts. The French, or globe, artichoke (Cynara scolymus) is a thistlelike plant of which the globular flower heads are used in the immature state as a salad or vegetable; only the lower part of the fleshy bracts ("leaves") and the center ("heart") are eaten. The cultivation of this S European plant is now a considerable industry in California. A large part of the yearly crop is canned for export to South America. The edible blanched leaves and leafstalks are called chard. The other artichoke plant is the Jerusalem artichoke. Artichokes are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Asterales, family Asteraceae.

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artichoke

Large, coarse, herbaceous, thistlelike perennial plant (Cynara scolymus) of the composite family. The thick edible scales and bottom part (heart) of the immature flower heads are a culinary delicacy. The artichoke is native to the Mediterranean and is cultivated extensively in other regions with rich soil and a mild, humid climate. The Jerusalem artichoke is a tuber and does not resemble the artichoke.

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artichoke

1. a thistle-like Eurasian plant, Cynara scolymus, cultivated for its large edible flower head containing many fleshy scalelike bracts: family Asteraceae (composites)

2. the unopened flower head of this plant, which can be cooked and eaten

3. See Jerusalem artichoke

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artichoke [′ärd·ə‚chōk]

(botany)

Cynara scolymus.A herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the order Asterales; the flower head is edible.

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Artichoke 

(Cynara), a genus of perennial herbaceous plants of the family Compositae. The leaves of the artichoke are large and lobed or serrated. The violet, blue, or white tubular blossoms occur in anthodia with an involucre of mul-tiseriate, regularly arranged leaves. There are about 12 species in the Mediterranean countries and the Canary Islands. Two closely related species are cultivated—the car-doon and the true artichoke. The cardoon, or Spanish artichoke (Cynara cardunculus), grows wild in southern Europe, northern Africa, the Canary Islands, and Madeira. At one time it reached tropical America, became wild, and spread on the extratropical plains. The skinned leaves and main leaf ribs are used for food; the fleshy, spicy heart is edible when cooked.

The true, or prickly artichoke (C. scolymus) is widely cultivated in southern Europe and the USSR, chiefly in Kras-nodarsk Krai. The stalk is usually branching and is 0.5–1 m high. The fleshy receptacle of unopened flower clusters and the thickened bases of the scales on the lower rows of the involucre and sometimes on the thick roots are used for food, cooked and canned. The flower receptacle contains 2.5–3 percent protein, 7–15 percent hydrocarbons, 3–11 mg percent of vitamin C, 0.4 mg percent of carotene, vitamins B₁ and B₂, and 86–88 percent water. The seeds of the artichoke contain about 30 percent fat and are used in poultry feed.

The artichoke plant is also used as a fodder plant (green fodder and silage) and a decorative plant. Laonskii 19, Violet, and Maikopskii 41 are varieties of artichoke found in the USSR. The artichoke is propagated from seeds and cuttings. In southern regions it is grown in a three- or four-year culture, and in the middle zone it is grown as an annual culture by the hotbed method. The yield of flower clusters is 5–25 tons per hectare.

REFERENCES

Vasilenko, N. G. Malorasprostrannennye ovoshchi i priany erasteniia. Moscow, 1962.
Ipat’ev, A. N. Ovoshchnye rasteniia zemnogo shara. Minsk, 1966.