The domestication of artichoke and cardoon: from Roman times to the genomic age

Abstract

Background: The history of domestication of artichoke and leafy cardoon is not yet fully understood and when and where it occurred remains unknown. Evidence supports the hypothesis that wild cardoon is the wild progenitor of both these crops. Selection for large, non-spiny heads resulted in artichoke and selection for non-spiny, large stalked tender leaves resulted in leafy cardoon. The two crops differ in their reproductive system: artichoke is mostly vegetatively propagated and perennial, while leafy cardoon is seed propagated and mostly grown as an annual plant. Here, new trends in artichoke cultivation are analysed, while the consequences of these tendencies on the conservation of artichoke genetic resources are highlighted.

Scope: The historical and artistic records, together with recent literature on genetics and biosystematics, are examined with the aim of achieving a better understanding of the present-day knowledge on the domestication of these two crops.

Conclusions: Historical, linguistic and artistic records are consistent with genetic and biosystematic data and indicate that the domestication of artichoke and cardoon diverged at different times and in different places. Apparently, artichoke was domesticated in Roman times, possibly in Sicily, and spread by the Arabs during early Middle Ages. The cardoon was probably domesticated in the western Mediterranean in a later period.

Fig. 1.

Relationships among Cynara species and within C. cardunculus revealed by rDNA spacers parsimony analysis, redrawn from Sonnante et al. (2007). Abbreviations for the Cynara cardunculus clade: Sylv = var. sylvestris; Alt = var. altilis; Scol = var. scolymus, followed by geographic origin (Sylv and Alt) or varietal group (Scol).

Fig. 2.

Diverging domestication patterns in artichoke and leafy cardoon.