ISOZYME RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CULTIVATED ARTICHOKE AND THE WILD RELATIVES

The genetic affinities between the cultivated artichoke Cynara cardunc ulus L. var. scolymus (L.) Fiori [= C. scolymus L.] and its wild relat ives were assessed by tests of 20 enzyme systems (28 loci). Six repres entative cultivars and the following wild taxa were examined: (i) wild cardoon C. cardunculus L. var. sylvestris (Lamk) Fiori, (ii) C. syria ca Boiss., (iii) C. cornigera (Lindley) [= C. sibthorpiana Boiss.], (i v) C. algarbiensis Cosson, (v) C. baetica (Spreng.) Pau [= C. alba Boi ss.], and (vi) C. humilis L. Twenty one out of the 28 loci tested were polymorphic (mainly between species). The genetic identity between th e cultivars and the wild cardoon forms ranged from 0.92 to 0.96; while that between these two taxa and the five other wild Cynara species ra nged between 0.67 and 0.79. This implicates wild C. cardunculus in the wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke.