Can anyone tell me where artichokes come >from. >Heidi Anderson >[log in to unmask] > Heidi, my understanding is that artichokes are a kind of thistle - if you let them flower and go to seed they have that same fuzzy/prickly personality. They grow in California in areas that have long cool dry growing seasons; you can get them to grow here in hot sticky South Carolina but they do poorly ; those which make it through the hot sticky stuff rarely make it through the freezes. More technical advice I can't give you - sorry - Anne Anne Lane Curatorial Assistant Museum of York County 4621 Mt. Gallant Road Rock Hill, SC 29732-9905 803-329-2121 ext 122 * [log in to unmask]