These Arabic forms themselves derive from classical Arabic حرشفة ( harshafa) singular word of the plural حراشف ( ḥarashef) meaning 'scale'.

The Arabic form kharshūfa is still used in Maghrebi Arabic today, while other variants in Arabic include kharshafa, and Modern Standard Arabic khurshūfa. The Italian term was itself borrowed either from Spanish alcarchofa (today usually alcachofa) or directly from the source of the Spanish word-medieval Andalusi Arabic الخرشوفة ( al-kharshūfa, including the Arabic definite article al). The English word artichoke was borrowed in the sixteenth century from the northern Italian word articiocco (the standard modern Italian being carciofo). The majority of the cynarine found in artichoke is located in the pulp of the leaves, though dried leaves and stems of artichoke also contain it. Cynarine is a chemical constituent in Cynara. The total antioxidant capacity of artichoke flower heads is one of the highest reported for vegetables. These are inedible in older, larger flowers.Īrtichoke contains the bioactive agents apigenin and luteolin. The edible portions of the buds consist primarily of the fleshy lower portions of the involucral bracts and the base, known as the heart the mass of immature florets in the center of the bud is called the choke or beard. The flowers develop in a large head from an edible bud about 8–15 cm (3–6 in) diameter with numerous triangular scales the individual florets are purple. This vegetable grows to 1.4–2 m (4 ft 7 in – 6 ft 7 in) tall, with arching, deeply lobed, silvery, glaucous-green leaves 50–83 cm ( 19 + 1⁄ 2– 32 + 1⁄ 2 in) long.

Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee