Syrian Wild Artichoke

Cynara syriaca

A large perennial thorn, with deep and thick roots. in early winter it develops a large leaves rosette, up to 80 cm long. the leaves are lobed, greyish-green, with white lines and blotches. during spring it grows long stems, 60-180 cm tall. Each stem develops 3-8 flowering heads, up to 10 cm in diameter. the florets are all disc-florets, they are a deep purple-blue.
Cynara syriaca Cynara syriaca,Geotagged,Israel,Summer,Syrian Wild Artichoke

Naming

Cynara is the ancient greek name for Artichoke
Cynara syriaca Cynara syriaca,Geotagged,Israel,Summer,Syrian Wild Artichoke

Distribution

Israel, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus.
Cynara syriaca Cynara syriaca,Geotagged,Summer,Syrian Wild Artichoke

Status

Least Concern
Cynara syriaca Cynara syriaca,Israel,Syrian Wild Artichoke

Habitat

deep soils, mainly in mountainous regions.
Cynara syriaca Cynara syriaca,Geotagged,Israel,Summer,Syrian Wild Artichoke

Uses

the flower heads are cooked and eaten like the Artichoke.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

https://flora.org.il/en/plants/CYNSYR/

https://www.wildflowers.co.il/english/plant.asp?ID=885
Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderAsterales
FamilyAsteraceae
GenusCynara
SpeciesCynara syriaca
Photographed in
Israel