The domestication of artichoke and cardoon: from Roman times to genomics age

•Background and Aims The history of domestication of artichoke and leafy cardoon is not yet fully understood and the place and time where/when it occurred remain still unknown. Various evidences support the hypothesis that wild cardoon is the wild progenitor of these two crops which resulted from the selection pressure operated by man for large, non-spiny heads on one side and non-spiny, large stalked tender leaves on the other side. The two crops also differ for reproductive system: artichoke is mostly vegetatively propagated and perennial, while leafy cardoon is seed propagated and mostly grown as an annual plant. •Methods In this contribution we examine historical and artistic records, together with recent literature in genetics and biosystematics with the aim of achieving a better understanding of the present-day knowledge on the domestication of these two crops. •Key Results Historical, linguistic and artistic records, consistently with genetic and biosystematic data, seem to indicate that the domestication of artichoke and cardoon diverged in time and space. Apparently, artichoke was domesticated in Roman times, possibly in Sicily, and spread by the Arabs during early Middle Ages. The cardoon was probably domesticated in the western Mediterranean in a later time. •Conclusions Finally, we analyse new trends in artichoke cultivation, trying to expose the consequences of these tendency on the conservation of artichoke genetic resources.