Cynara cardunculus

30 seeds Cynara cardunculus.

The cardoon (Cynara cardunculus), also called the artichoke thistle, cardone, cardoni, carduni or cardi, is a thistle-like plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a naturally occurring species that is sometimes considered to include the globe artichoke, and has many cultivated forms. It is native to the western and central Mediterranean region, where it was domesticated in ancient times.

Cardoons are used as a vegetarian source of enzymes for cheese production. In Portugal, traditional coagulation of the curd relies entirely on this vegetable rennet. This results in cheeses such as the Nisa (D.O.P.), with a peculiar earthy, herbaceous and slightly citric flavour that bears affinity with full-bodied or fortified wines.

The cardoon is also grown as an ornamental plant for its imposing architectural appearance, with very bright silvery-grey foliage and large flowers in selected cultivars.

Cardoon has attracted recent attention as a possible source of biodiesel. The oil, extracted from the seeds of the cardoon, and called artichoke oil, is similar to safflower and sunflower oil in composition and use.

Cardoon is the feedstock for the first biorefinery in the world converting the installations of a petrochemical plant in Porto Novo, Sardinia, providing biomass and oils for the building blocks of bioplastics. Matrica, the joint venture of ENI and Novamont, will inaugurate the facility in the Fall of 2013.

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