The Wild Artichoke Thistle (Cynara cardunculus) is a flowering, herbaceous, perennial plant in the Asteraceae family. It is also known as the Cardoon.
It is native to the western and central Mediterranean region.
It grows to 100-150 centimetres (39-59 inches) tall.
It has deeply lobed and heavily spined green to grey-green tomentose (hairy) leaves up to 50 centimetres (20 inches) long, with spines. The stalks have a reddish colour and are covered with small, nearly invisible spines.
The flowers have globular-shaped violet-purple heads 7-13 centimetres (3-5 inches) in diameter.
The Wild Artichoke Thistle blooms in summer.
Photographed in Tbilisi, Georgia in July 2016; London, England in August 2018; and Paris, France, in May 2019.
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
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