: a large perennial Mediterranean plant (Cynara cardunculus) related to the artichoke and cultivated for its edible root and stalks
also
: the root and petioles
Examples of cardoon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Both plants are descended from the wild cardoon (Cynara cardunculus, for anyone keeping track), with one of the two having been domesticated, near Sicily, in the first century AD.
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Tamar Adler, Vogue, 7 Mar. 2025
Artichokes and cardoons have silvery foliage and thistle-like flowers that are dazzling in large decorative containers and can add height and variety to annual flower beds.
—Anne Readel, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Aug. 2024
Before the emergence of the French tacos, Vaulx-en-Velin was known as the cardoon capital of France.
—Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2021
There are stews made with cardoons and with apples or quinces in the fall, and with peaches in the late summer.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2019
This Merino sheep’s-milk cheese is from the Extremadura region of Spain and produced using the flower buds of the cardoon thistle.
—Molly Fitzpatrick, Bon Appetit, 26 Apr. 2018
Many edible plants are ornamental themselves, such as peppers, eggplants, fennel, dill, cardoon and kale.
—Margaret Lauterbach, idahostatesman, 21 Mar. 2018
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Tamar Adler, Vogue, 7 Mar. 2025
Artichokes and cardoons have silvery foliage and thistle-like flowers that are dazzling in large decorative containers and can add height and variety to annual flower beds.
—Anne Readel, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Aug. 2024
Before the emergence of the French tacos, Vaulx-en-Velin was known as the cardoon capital of France.
—Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2021
There are stews made with cardoons and with apples or quinces in the fall, and with peaches in the late summer.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2019
This Merino sheep’s-milk cheese is from the Extremadura region of Spain and produced using the flower buds of the cardoon thistle.
—Molly Fitzpatrick, Bon Appetit, 26 Apr. 2018
Many edible plants are ornamental themselves, such as peppers, eggplants, fennel, dill, cardoon and kale.
—Margaret Lauterbach, idahostatesman, 21 Mar. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Cardoon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cardoon. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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