Alcachofra em flor. Uma alcachofra (nome cientifico Cynara cardunculus subsp. scolymus, anteriormente designada por Cynara scolymus) eh uma planta com ate um metro de altura, da familia das compostas, de caules estriados, folhas penatífidas e grandes capitulos florais. / Artichoke head with flower in bloom. The globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus), also known by the names French artichoke and green artichoke in the U.S. is a variety of a species of thistle cultivated as a food.
The edible portion of the plant consists of the flower buds before the flowers come into bloom. The budding artichoke flower-head is a cluster of many budding small flowers (an inflorescence), together with many bracts, on an edible base. Once the buds bloom, the structure changes to a coarse, barely edible form.
