About:

The sight of rows upon rows of a sunflower field in bloom can be truly inspiring. The sunflower is more than just a pretty face however - it is a versatile and useful plant with interesting characteristics.

The sunflower originated in North America, and of the approximately 60 species of sunflower, most are native to the wide stretches of sun-laden prairie and naturally occuring open areas of the Great Plains. Sunflower is believed to have been domesticated from wild sunflower around 1000 B.C. by Native Americans to produce the single-stalked Common Sunflower. The sunflower provided the tribe with food, was ground into flours for making breads and soups, and the ground seeds were also boiled to extract the oil. This oil was used for cooking, to soften leather, as a salve and as a hair conditioner.

Sunflowers are usually tall annuals, growing to a height of 50-390 or more cm. The rough and hairy stem is branched in the upper part in wild plants but is usually unbranched in domesticated cultivars. The petiolate leaves are dentate and often sticky. The lower leaves are opposite, ovate or often heart-shaped. The upper leaves are alternate and narrower. They bear one or several to many wide, terminal capitula (flower heads), with bright yellow ray florets at the outside and yellow or maroon disc florets inside. Several ornamental cultivars have red-colored ray florets; all of them stem from a single original mutant. During growth, sunflowers tilt during the day to face the sun, but stop once they begin blooming.