| ≥1 piece |
Habitat: The globe artichoke is a variety of a species of thistle cultivated as a food.
The edible portion of the plant consists of the flower buds before the flowers come into bloom. The budding artichoke flower-head is a cluster of many budding small flowers (an inflorescence) together with many bracts, on an edible base.
Once the buds bloom, the structure changes to a coarse, barely edible form. Another variety of the species is the cardoon, a perennial plant native to the Mediterranean region.
Both wild forms and cultivated varieties (cultivars) exist.
Plant Description: It grows to 1.4-2 m (4.6-6.6 ft) tall, with arching, deeply lobed, silvery, glaucous-green leaves 50-82 cm (20-32 in) long.
The flowers develop in a large head from an edible bud about 8-15 cm (3.1-5.9 in) diameter with numerous triangular scales; the individual florets are purple.
The edible portions of the buds consist primarily of the fleshy lower portions of the involucral bracts and the base, known as the "heart"; the mass of immature florets in the center of the bud is called the "choke" or beard.
These are inedible in older, larger flowers.
Plant Part Used: Leaf,Berries and Root