Much further south - in the sub tropics of Australia. They're native to South America. I've seen people growing them in Arizona but the frosts tend to knock them around a lot. They can bounce back in spring & grow a lot in the summer though.

While the white fluff around the seeds is a sweet edible treat, I don't rate them as a food source. I'm growing them as a support plant & bio mass accumulator. 

 Nice!
‘Brisket’ had me thinking Texas.

All my family that left Ireland pre-1900 went to Oz.  Rest came here in the 20s.