Common, or Large Smooth. Trans.
Smooth Large Solid. Plein Inerme. Vil.
This kind grows from four to five feet high. The leaves are large and strong, though somewhat smaller than those of the Tours or Prickly Cardoon. They are of a shining-green color, with little appearance of hoariness on the upper surface, and generally destitute of spines; though some of the plants occasionally have a few small ones at the base of the leaflets.
The Cardon Plein Inerme of the French, which is described in the "Bon Jardinier" as a novelty, corresponds nearly with the Large Smooth or Common Cardoon.
Large Spanish. Trans.
D'Espagne. Vil.
Stem five or six feet high. The divisions of the leaflets are rather narrower, and somewhat more hoary, than those of the Common Cardoon. The ribs are longer, and the whole plant stronger and generally more spiny; though, on the whole, comparatively smooth. It is not, however, always very readily distinguished from the Common or Large Smooth Cardoon. It runs up to seed quicker than the other varieties.
Puvis. Thomp.
Artichoke-leaved. Lance-leaved. Puvis de Bourg. Vil.
The Puvis Cardoon is remarkable for its strong growth, the large size it attains, and the thickness of the mid-ribs of the leaves, which are almost solid. The leaves are thick, and not at all prickly, or very slightly so. The terminal lobe is very large, and lance-formed: whence the name. It is a fine variety, and of more tender substance than the Tours Cardoon.