Cynara cardunculus. A wild plant with thorny leaves growing between April and June on rocky grounds. It can be found at the foothills of mountains and in the Ayia Napa area. It was popular in ancient Greek, Roman and Persian cuisine and throughout Europe's medieval period.
The leaves are cleaned from the thorns, boiled and cooked either with pulses, or fired in olive oil. They can be cooked with eggs and meat with tomato sauce. This wild weed used to be exported even to England in the old times.
In the centre of the weed, one can find small artichokes called Kaykaroudes tis hostis, but they are very difficult to access due to the thorns.
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