Cardoon

Cardoon (Cynara Cardunculus), a perennial composite of the same genus with the Artichoke (q.v.), a native of the south of Europe and the north of Africa. It much resembles the artichoke, but is of larger size, whilst the flower-heads are smaller. It has long been in cultivation, particularly on the Continent, for the sake of the blanched leaf-stalks and midribs, which are used as a salad, or more generally as a boiled vegetable during winter.