The artichoke is a flower that grows from the bud of a thistle. The leaves (known as "bracts") cover a fuzzy center known as the "choke," which lies atop a meaty core known as the "heart." The heart can be eaten whole (and amazingly delicious). In ordinary artichokes, the fuzzy choke is too fibrous to consume, but it is edible in baby artichokes. All save the core leaves are tough, and the tender sections must be scraped off with your teeth.