Cynara cardunculus is the Artichoke thistle or Wild artichoke, in some places called the Cardoon and used as a food. The edible Artichoke may be an ancient cultigen of this plant. As an introduced species in California, it is a major pest.
Cynara scolymus is the edible Artichoke or Globe artichoke. It differs from C. cardunculus in that the leaf lobes and inner bracts of involucre are less spiny
