Isozyme relationships between cultivated artichoke and the wild relatives

The genetic affinities between the cultivated artichoke Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus (L.) Fiori [= C. scolymus L.] and its wild relatives were assessed by tests of 20 enzyme systems (28 loci). Six representative cultivars and the following wild taxa were examined: (i) wild cardoon C. cardunculus L. var. sylvestris (Lamk) Fiori, (ii) C. syriaca Boiss., (iii) C. cornigera (Lindley) [= C. sibthorpiana Boiss.], (iv) C. algarbiensis Cosson, (v) C. baetica (Spreng.) Pau [= C. alba Boiss.], and (vi) C. humilis L. Twenty one out of the 28 loci tested were polymorphic (mainly between species). The genetic identity between the cultivars and the wild cardoon forms ranged from 0.92 to 0.96; while that between these two taxa and the five other wild Cynara species ranged between 0.67 and 0.79. This implicates wild C. cardunculus in the wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke.