Crop seedling. Researcher holding a seedling of the Chinese artichoke plant (Stachys affinis). This plant is grown for its edible tubers. The Chinese artichoke is native to Japan and China. It was introduced to Europe in 1882 to the village of Crosne, France, but is not widely known. This seedling was grown at ENTHIP (France's national horticultural school) in Angers, France, where the researchers are working on preserving the heritage and diversity of cultivated crops and vegetables, and improving their flavour and their yield and their resistance to disease.