Thistle Bee Dinner Party

Globe artichoke (Cynara scolious), is a member of the second largest plant family...the Asteraceae family, which includes approximately 22,000 species! Artichokes are also thistles, which have hundreds of disk flowers (purple below) on one flower head. Each purple disk flower has five petals (corolla) fused together and after pollination, the sepal (or modified leaves) open up and help the plant disperse seeds.

Bees pollinating individual disk flowers (purple corolla tubes).

Pappus sepals on left, and bracts on far right. Artichokes are harvested and the bracts are eaten before the the disk flowers have formed much. 

Seeds with attached pappus for wind dispersal.