cynara cornigera Lindl.
Syn. cynara sibthorpiana Boiss.&Heldr.
Wild artichoke, Mountain Aginaraki
This perennial plant is a distant relative of the tame artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) and spreads in a native state throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, Libya, Libya, Turkey, Cyprus and southern Greece. It prefers sunny rocky sites and topsoil. It grows well at low altitude in coastal areas although it can thrive up to 800m.
This perennial plant is a distant relative of the tame artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) and spreads in a native state throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, Libya, Libya, Turkey, Cyprus and southern Greece. It prefers sunny rocky sites and topsoil. It grows well at low altitude in coastal areas although it can thrive up to 800m.
The Latin name of the genus cynara is probably derived from the name of the Aegean island of Kynaros or Kynaros, which is located between the Cyclades and the Dodecanese. Another possible version is that it derives from the ancient Greek kyon-kynos = dog from the resemblance of the leaves to dog teeth. The characteristic adjective cornigera from the Latin cornu = horn
