GARDEN SPECIALTIES 223 



I have grown the cardoon, but have not experi- 

 mented with it in the attempt to produce varia- 

 tion, as the European cultivators have developed 

 it to a very satisfactory stage. 



The plant is very little known in America, but 

 is likely to be more extensively propagated when 

 its merits are understood. 



THE SUNFLOWER ARTICHOKE 



Another member of the sunflower family is 

 popularly known as the Jerusalem artichoke, the 

 name having originated, it is said, in a Spanish 

 nickname, amplified to suggest the relationship 

 of the plant to the artichoke just described, which 

 is generally spoken of as the Globe artichoke. 



The Jerusalem artichoke belongs to the genus 

 Helianthus, of which there are numerous species, 

 some of them growing wild in California. It is 

 entirely distinct from the true artichoke, both in 

 growth, appearance, and the purposes for which 

 it is used. 



The part of this plant that is sometimes used 

 as food is not the flower bud, but a tuber not very 

 remotely suggestive of a potato. 



The plants of the sunflower tribe are variable, 

 as is usual with plants represented by many 

 species. Some of them bloom abundantly when 

 only six to twelve inches in height, while others 



