Cynara

Sunflower family
Compositae

Sin 'a-ra. About a dozen coarse, thistle-like herbs, mostly from the Mediterranean region.

Description
Leaves large, more or less lobed, cut, or both, sometimes spiny. Flowers tubular, disk-shaped, no rays, in large, dense heads, one terminating most of the larger branches. Cluster of bracts in many series below and surrounding each head, spiny-tipped and purple in the Cardoon.

How to Grow
Plants need a long, cool growing season to develop to full size. Start seeds indoors in very early spring to get good-sized plants for setting out in garden. Transplant twice to successively larger pots. If hardened off, the young plants will withstand a few degrees of frost. They need rich soil and plenty of moisture.

Cynara cardunculus
Cardoon . To 6 ft. (1.8 m) high. Root and thickened leafstalks edible. Leaves large, very deeply cut, grayish green above, but white-felty beneath, densely spiny. Flowerheads purple, to 3 in. (7.5 cm) wide, with spiny-tipped bracts. S. Europe. Most dramatic from late summer through fall. Perennial except where winters are severe but usually treated as a half-hardy annual.

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: artichoke; cardoon
  Synonym: genus Cynara

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• Genres: Rock

Biography

Sister of the singers Cyva, Cybele, and Cylene (of the Quarteto em Cy), Cynara has had a noted solo career in parallel with that of the Quarteto. She studied in Salvador until 1962. At that time she was an amateur actress and performed at the Rádio Sociedade da Bahia. In 1959 she formed an amateur duo with her sister Cylene, winning first place in a contest at TV Itapuã (Salvador, Bahia). They also had a weekly show on that station, where they performed songs that would soon become known as bossa nova. In 1963 Cynara moved to Rio de Janeiro with her sisters (after Cyva had paved the way). In the same year they became acquainted with Vinícius de Moraes, who suggested the group's name. The Quarteto em Cy debuted on June 30, 1964, at the Bottle's Bar, in the Beco das Garrafas. In 1967 Cynara left the group and formed with Cybele the duo Cynara e Cybele, which dissolved in 1968. In 1969 Cynara recorded her solo LP Pronta Pra Consumo. In that same year she participated in the Juiz de Fora Song Festival (Minas Gerais), winning first place with the song "Casaco Marrom" (Renato Corrêa/Danilo Caymmi/Gutemberg Guarabyra), which became a classic. From 1972 to 1984 Cynara again joined the Quarteto em Cy. From 1984 to 1987 the Quarteto em Cy became inactive, and during that period Cynara wrote the vocal arrangements and sang in the group Chovendo na Roseira, dedicated to Tom Jobim's compositions, with Bia Paes Leme, Soraya Monte Nunes, and Luciana Medeiros. Cynara also worked as a producer for TV specials during that time. In 1987 the Quarteto became active again and, in the next year, Cynara co-produced an independent LP by Luís Armando Queiroz. Invited by Arthur Moreira Lima, from 1987 to 1990, Cynara produced the weekly shows of the project Sexta Básica. From 1990 to 1993 she produced and presented the daily show of national and international instrumental music Circuito Instrumental, broadcast by Rádio MEC. She also wrote some of the vocal arrangements for the Quarteto em Cy, and for the MPB-4 she wrote the vocal arrangements for their CDs Bate-Boca and Somos Todos Iguais. ~ Alvaro Neder, All Music Guide

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