The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke

The genetic affinities between the cultivated artichoke Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus (L.) Fiori (= C. scolymus L.) and its wild relatives were tested by means of a crossing programme. The following wild taxa were involved: (i) wild cardoon C. carcundulus L. var. sylvestris (Lamk) Fiori, (ii) C. syriaca Boiss., (iii) C. cornigera Lindley, (iv) C. algarbiensis Cosson, (v) C. baetica (Spreng.) Pau (= C. alba Boiss.), and (vi) C. humilis L. Only the wild cardoon was found to be fully cross-compatible and fully infertile with the crop. In contrast, all other five wild Cynara species turned to be almost fully-or fully-cross-incompatible with the crop, and the few interspecific F-1 hybrids recovered were partly or almost fully sterile. These finds establish the wild cardoon as the wild ancestor of the cultivated vegetable.