Artichoke

I drew the artichoke at the moment we usually eat it: as a tight, armoured bud, before it ever becomes a flower. That timing is the whole subject. Left on the plant, the bud opens into a violet thistle, and everything we peel, scrape and discard is the structure of that flower, held shut. In this artichoke print I looked down on the bud slightly, so the staggered bracts and their sharp tips read as a pattern. The stem is heavy and grey-green, with a smaller bud forming at the first branch.

In shortThe globe artichoke, Cynara scolymus, is a cultivated thistle selected from the cardoon around the Mediterranean. What we eat is the unopened flower bud, which would otherwise open into a violet flower. The plate shows one bud with its bracts and stem.

Key Facts

Is an artichoke a flower or a vegetable?

An artichoke is both. It is eaten as a vegetable, but botanically it is the unopened flower head of a thistle. The scales we pull off one by one are bracts, which are modified leaves. The hairy choke in the middle is a mass of immature florets. The heart at the base is the flat receptacle that would have carried them.

Left unharvested, the bud opens into a flower of violet filaments that can reach about 18 cm (7 inches) across, and bees visit it eagerly. That is why the artichoke belongs with the daisy family, Asteraceae, next to sunflowers, dandelions and lettuce. A thing that looks like a closed fist of armour is in fact a flower prevented from happening. Cutting the bud at the right moment matters. Cut too early and the heart is small. Cut too late and the choke turns fibrous.

How is the globe artichoke related to the cardoon?

The globe artichoke is a cultivated form of the cardoon, a wild thistle of the Mediterranean. Many botanists now treat both as one species, Cynara cardunculus, while the artichoke’s older name, Cynara scolymus, is still widely used. Over centuries, growers selected plants for larger, more tender buds and fewer spines, and the artichoke emerged. The cardoon itself is still grown for its edible leaf stalks rather than for its flowers.

Regional types then took on their own names: the Romanesco of Lazio, the Camus of Brittany, the Violetto of Sicily and Sardinia. The studio keeps the artichoke in its Mediterranean Table collection, beside plates such as basil and the cherry tomato, because it belongs to the same southern kitchen. The species name cardunculus means little thistle, which describes the plant honestly.

How does the artichoke plant grow?

The artichoke is a herbaceous perennial, so it regrows from the same root each year. In mild climates it dies back in the heat of summer and sprouts again with autumn rain. In colder regions it needs mulch over the winter, or it is grown as an annual. The plant is large: one to two metres tall, with deeply lobed, arching, silver-grey leaves that are handsome even when no bud is forming.

A healthy plant carries a main bud first and smaller side buds afterwards, up to about a dozen in a season. Growers usually wait until the second summer before cutting. A clump is productive for several years and is then divided and renewed. The leaves, as much as the bud, give the plant its architectural look in a kitchen garden.

Where does the word artichoke come from?

The word artichoke comes from the Arabic al-kharshuf. It passed into Spanish as alcachofa and into Italian as articiocco before it reached English. That route follows the plant itself. Cultivation developed around the Mediterranean and in the Arab world before the Middle Ages, then spread through Italy and France.

The ancient Greeks and Romans already prized the thistle at the table. In the seventeenth century, Dutch and Flemish painters set artichokes in their still lifes for their sculptural form. Eating one is slow work: leaf by leaf, with oil and salt, towards the heart. The reward is out of proportion to the effort, and that patience is part of the vegetable’s character.

Why does an artichoke bud look so geometric?

An artichoke bud looks geometric because its bracts are arranged in a spiral. Each bract overlaps the one below it, and the pattern repeats from the base to the tip. The bracts are the scale-like leaves that wrap the flower, and the bud is built by repeating the same unit as it grows.

The outer bracts are tougher and tipped with a small point. The inner ones are paler and more tender. Many buds carry a purple tinge that deepens toward the tips. The tight bracts protect the florets inside until the bud is ready to open. The armour is structural: it keeps the flower closed, then lets it unfold.

Drawing the artichoke

The plate shows one bud, drawn slightly from above. I chose that angle because it shows how the bracts are staggered. Each one overlaps the next, and each ends in a small sharp point. The colour is a silvery green with purple tinges that deepen toward the tips.

The stem is heavy and grey-green. I drew a smaller bud forming at the first branch, as the secondary buds do on the plant. A photograph of an artichoke tends to flatten the spiral into a green ball, because glare and shadow hide where one bract ends and the next begins. The hand-drawn digital illustration keeps every bract separate, so the eye can follow the pattern from the stem to the point. The bud is the subject, and the stem is there to show how it is carried.

Where does an artichoke print work on a wall?

An artichoke print suits a kitchen, a dining room or any wall with a Mediterranean mood. A dark wood frame with warm undertones makes it read as a serious culinary study. A black frame makes it more graphic, and a terracotta frame makes it feel sun-warmed and Italian. It belongs to the Mediterranean Table collection and appears in the Mediterranean kitchen guide. In the photograph below, it hangs with basil and tomato plates, three framed botanical illustrations on a kitchen wall above a faucet and countertop. It is offered in sizes from small prints to over 150 cm (60 inches).

Fine-art print →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an artichoke the same as a cardoon?

They are very close relatives, often treated as one species, Cynara cardunculus, but they are different crops. The globe artichoke was selected for large, tender flower buds. The cardoon is grown for its edible leaf stalks and keeps a more thistle-like, spiny habit. The artichoke is the cultivated form of its wild relative.

What is the hairy choke inside an artichoke?

The choke is the mass of immature florets at the centre of the bud, sitting above the heart. If the bud were left to open, these florets would become the violet flower. In a mature bud the choke turns coarse and fibrous, which is why it is removed before eating.

Do artichoke plants come back every year?

Yes, in most climates. The artichoke is a perennial that regrows from its root. In mild regions it dies back in summer heat and returns with autumn rain. In cold winters it needs mulch. A clump is usually divided and renewed after several years.

What happens if an artichoke is left to flower?

The bud opens into a large thistle flower of violet filaments, up to about 18 cm (7 inches) across. Bees and other pollinators visit it. Once it has opened, the bud is no longer worth eating, but the flower is a striking sight in a garden.

How is this print made, and how does it reach me?

There are two formats. The digital download is a high-resolution file that you print yourself, at home or at a print shop; no physical item is shipped. The fine-art print is printed to order on archival paper or canvas, framed or unframed, in sizes from small prints to over 150 cm (60 inches), and delivered to your door.