common sunflower

The plant has an erect rough-hairy stem, reaching typical heights of {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=off|frac=2}}. The tallest sunflower on record achieved {{convert|9.17|m|ftin|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |title=Tallest Sunflower |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/tallest-sunflower |website=Guinness World Records |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=7 June 2023 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607124159/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/tallest-sunflower }} Sunflower leaves are broad, coarsely toothed, rough and mostly alternate; those near the bottom are largest and commonly heart-shaped.{{Cite book |last=Spellenberg |first=Richard |url=https://archive.org/details/nationalaudubons00spel/page/378/ |title=National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region |publisher=Knopf |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-375-40233-3 |edition=rev |pages=378–379 |orig-date=1979}}

The plant flowers in summer. What is often called the "flower" of the sunflower is actually a "flower head" (pseudanthium), {{Convert|7.5-12.5|cm|frac=2}} wide, of numerous small individual five-petaled flowers ("florets"). The outer flowers, which resemble petals, are called ray flowers. Each "petal" consists of a ligule composed of fused petals of an asymmetrical ray flower. They are sexually sterile and may be yellow, red, orange, or other colors. The spirally arranged flowers in the center of the head are called disk flowers. These mature into fruit (sunflower "seeds").

The prairie sunflower (H. petiolaris) is similar in appearance to the wild common sunflower; the scales in its central disk are tipped by white hairs.{{clear|left}}

File:SunflowerSunset2.jpg

A common misconception is that flowering sunflower heads track the Sun across the sky. Although immature flower buds exhibit this behaviour, the mature flowering heads point in a fixed (and typically easterly) direction throughout the day.{{cite web|url=http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/plantmotion/movements/tropism/solartrack/solartrack.html|title=Solar tracking: sunflower plants |last=Hangarter |first=Roger P. |work=Plants-In-Motion website |publisher=Indiana University |access-date=22 August 2012 |quote=Many people are under the misconception that the flower heads of the cultivated sunflower (Helianthus annuus) track the sun... Immature sunflower flower heads do exhibit solar tracking and on sunny days the buds will track the sun across the sky from east to west... However, as the flower bud matures and blossoms, the stem stiffens and the flower head becomes fixed facing the eastward direction."}}{{cite web|url=http://www.flowers-org.com/helianthus-sunflower.html |title=Sunflowers in the blooming stage are not heliotropic anymore. The stem has frozen, typically in an eastward orientation. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523191033/http://www.flowers-org.com/helianthus-sunflower.html |archive-date=2013-05-23 }} This old misconception was disputed in 1597 by the English botanist John Gerard, who grew sunflowers in his famous herbal garden: "[some] have reported it to turn with the Sun, the which I could never observe, although I have endeavored to find out the truth of it."{{cite book|last=Gerard|first=John|title=Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes|publisher=John Norton|location=London|year=1597|pages=612–614|url=http://www.botanicus.org/page/1956748|access-date=2012-08-08}} Popular botany book in 17th century England The uniform alignment of sunflower heads in a field might give some people the false impression that the flowers are tracking the Sun.

This alignment results from heliotropism in an earlier development stage, the young flower stage, before full maturity of flower heads (anthesis).{{cite web|url=http://www.geochembio.com/biology/organisms/sunflower/|title=Sunflower, Developmental stages (life cycle)|work=GeoChemBio website|access-date=8 August 2012|archive-date=27 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127144105/http://www.geochembio.com/biology/organisms/sunflower/|url-status=dead}} Young sunflowers orient themselves in the direction of the sun. At dawn, the head of the flower faces east and moves west throughout the day. When sunflowers reach full maturity, they no longer follow the sun and continuously face east. Young flowers reorient overnight to face east in anticipation of the morning. Their heliotropic motion is a circadian rhythm, synchronized by the sun, which continues if the sun disappears on cloudy days or if plants are moved to constant light.{{Cite journal|last1=Atamian|first1=Hagop S.|last2=Creux|first2=Nicky M.|last3=Brown|first3=Evan A.|last4=Garner|first4=Austin G.|last5=Blackman|first5=Benjamin K.|last6=Harmer|first6=Stacey L.|date=5 August 2016|title=Circadian regulation of sunflower heliotropism, floral orientation, and pollinator visits|journal=Science|language=en|volume=353|issue=6299|pages=587–590|doi=10.1126/science.aaf9793|issn=0036-8075|pmid=27493185|url=https://zenodo.org/record/889822|bibcode=2016Sci...353..587A|doi-access=free}} They are able to regulate their circadian rhythm in response to the blue-light emitted by a light source. If a sunflower plant in the bud stage is rotated 180°, the bud will be turning away from the sun for a few days, as resynchronization with the sun takes time.{{cite book|author1=Donat-Peter Häder|author2=Michael Lebert|title=Photomovement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2nevsljDiCYC&pg=PA673|access-date=15 August 2010|year=2001|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-0-444-50706-8|pages=673–}}

When growth of the flower stalk stops and the flower is mature, the heliotropism also stops and the flower faces east from that moment onward. This eastward orientation allows rapid warming in the morning, and as a result, an increase in pollinator visits. Sunflowers do not have a pulvinus below their inflorescence. A pulvinus is a flexible segment in the leaf stalks (petiole) of some plant species and functions as a 'joint'. It effectuates leaf motion due to reversible changes in turgor pressure which occurs without growth. The sensitive plant's closing leaves are a good example of reversible leaf movement via pulvinuli.

Image:SunflowerModel.svg

Generally, each floret is oriented toward the next by approximately the golden angle, 137.5°, producing a pattern of interconnecting spirals, where the number of left spirals and the number of right spirals are successive Fibonacci numbers. Typically, there are 34 spirals in one direction and 55 in the other; however, in a very large sunflower head there could be 89 in one direction and 144 in the other.{{Cite book |last1=Adam |first1=John A. |year=2003 |title=Mathematics in Nature: Modeling Patterns in the Natural World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2gO2sBp4ipQC&q=large-sunflower+spirals+144+89&pg=RA1-PA217 |via=Google Books |access-date=31 January 2011 |location= Princeton, New Jersey |publisher= Princeton University Press | page=217 |isbn=978-0-691-11429-3 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibnat2.html#demos |title= Fibonacci Numbers and Nature - Part 2 |first1= Ron |last1= Knott |website=Department of Computer Science |publisher = University of Surrey |date=12 February 2009 |access-date=31 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090916234127/http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibnat2.html#demos |archive-date=16 September 2009 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibnat.html |last1=Knott |first1=Ron |title= Fibonacci Numbers and Nature |website=Department of Computer Science |publisher = University of Surrey |date=30 October 2010 |access-date=31 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090907063800/http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibnat.html |archive-date=7 September 2009 }} This pattern produces the most efficient packing of seeds mathematically possible within the flower head.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f_VMeAToefwC&q=fibonacci+packing+efficiency&pg=PA154|title=Introduction to landscape design |last1=Motloch |first1=John L. |year=2000 |access-date=31 January 2011 |location = New York, USA | publisher= John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |page=154 |isbn=978-0-471-35291-4 }}{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/phyllotaxissyste0000jean/page/185 |url-access=registration |page= 185 |quote=fibonacci packing efficiency. |title=Phyllotaxis |access-date=2011-01-31|isbn=978-0-521-40482-2|last1=Jean|first1=Roger V|year=1994|publisher=Cambridge University Press }}{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/lab/5833/cycas.html |title=Parastichy pair(13:21) of CYCAS REVOLUTA (male) florets_WebCite |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003194946/http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/lab/5833/cycas.html |archive-date=3 October 2009 }}

A model for the pattern of florets in the head of a sunflower was proposed by H. Vogel in 1979.{{Cite journal |last=Vogel |first=H. |title=A better way to construct the sunflower head |journal=Mathematical Biosciences |volume=44 |issue=3–4 |pages=179–189 |year=1979 |doi=10.1016/0025-5564(79)90080-4 }} This is expressed in polar coordinates

:$r=c\; \backslash sqrt\{n\},$

:$\backslash theta=n\; \backslash times\; 137.5^\{\backslash circ\},$

where θ is the angle, r is the radius or distance from the center, and n is the index number of the floret and c is a constant scaling factor. It is a form of Fermat's spiral. The angle 137.5° is related to the golden ratio (55/144 of a circular angle, where 55 and 144 are Fibonacci numbers) and gives a close packing of florets. This model has been used to produce computer generated representations of sunflowers.{{cite book |last1=Prusinkiewicz |first1=Przemyslaw |author-link=Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz |last2=Lindenmayer |first2= Aristid |author-link2=Aristid Lindenmayer |title=The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants |publisher=Springer-Verlag |year=1990 |url= https://archive.org/details/algorithmicbeaut0000prus/page/101 |pages=101–107 |isbn=978-0-387-97297-8 }}

{{gallery|mode=packed

|Sunflower macro wide.jpg|Detail of disk florets

|Solros - Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) - Ystad-2024.jpg|After flowering, the seeds are visible.

|Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seeds.jpg|Sunflower seeds

}}

The sunflower genome is diploid with a base chromosome number of 17 and an estimated genome size of 2,871–3,189 million base pairs.{{cite web |title=Helianthus annuus (common sunflower) Genome Project |publisher=NCBI |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome?term=txid4232 |access-date=2012-02-20}}{{NCBI taxid|4232|Helianthus annuus}} Some sources claim its true size is around 3.5 billion base pairs (slightly larger than the human genome).{{cite web |title=Sunflower Genome Holds the Promise of Sustainable Agriculture|website=ScienceDaily |date=14 January 2010 |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100112121930.htm}}

In the binomial name Helianthus annuus, the genus name is derived from the Greek ἥλιος : hḗlios 'sun' and ἄνθος : ánthos 'flower'. The species name annuus means 'annual' in Latin.

The plant was first domesticated in the Americas. Sunflower seeds were brought to Europe from the Americas in the 16th century, where, along with sunflower oil, they became a widespread cooking ingredient. With time, the bulk of industrial-scale production has shifted to Eastern Europe, and ({{as of|2020|lc=yes}}) Russia and Ukraine together produce over half of worldwide seed production.

Sunflowers grow best in fertile, moist, well-drained soil with heavy mulch. They often appear on dry open areas and foothills. Outside of cultivation, the common sunflower is found on moist clay-based soils in areas with climates similar to Texas. In contrast, the related Helianthus debilis and Helianthus petiolaris are found on drier, sandier soils.{{cite journal |last1=Renaut |first1=Sébastien |last2=Grassa |first2=Christopher |last3=Moyers |first3=Brook |last4=Kane |first4=Nolan |last5=Rieseberg |first5=Loren |title=The Population Genomics of Sunflowers and Genomic Determinants of Protein Evolution Revealed by RNAseq |journal=Biology |date=25 October 2012 |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=576–577 |doi=10.3390/biology1030575 |url=https://archive.org/details/pubmed-PMC4009819/page/n1/mode/2up |access-date=4 October 2023|doi-access=free |pmid=24832509 |pmc=4009819 }}

The precise native range is difficult to determine. According to Plants of the World Online (POWO), it is native to Arizona, California, and Nevada in the present-day United States and to all parts of Mexico except the Gulf Coast and southeast.{{cite POWO |id=119003-2 |title=Helianthus annuus L. |access-date=4 October 2023}} Though not giving much detail, the Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder also lists it as native to the Western United States and Canada.{{cite web |title=Helianthus annuus |url=https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a583 |website=Plant Finder |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden |access-date=4 October 2023 |location=St. Louis, Missouri}} The information published by the Biota of North America Program (BONAP) largely agrees with this, showing the common sunflower as native to states west of the Mississippi, though also listed as a noxious weed in Iowa, Minnesota, and Texas.{{cite web |last1=Kartesz |first1=J.T. |title=Helianthus annuus |url=http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Helianthus%20annuus.png |website=Taxonomic Data Center |publisher=The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) |access-date=4 October 2023 |location=Chapel Hill, N.C. |date=2015}} Regardless of its original range, it can now be found in almost every part of the world that is not tropical, desert, or tundra.

{{Main|List of sunflower diseases}}

One of the major threats that sunflowers face today is Fusarium, a filamentous fungus that is found largely in soil and plants. It is a pathogen that over the years has caused an increasing amount of damage and loss of sunflower crops, some as extensive as 80% of damaged crops.Gontcharov, SV. Antonova, TS. and Saukova, SL. 2006. Sunflower breeding for resistance to fusarium. Helia [accessed 14 September 2014]; 29 (45): 49–54.

Downy mildew is another disease to which sunflowers are susceptible. Its susceptibility to downy mildew is particularly high due to the sunflower's way of growth and development. Sunflower seeds are generally planted only an inch deep in the ground. When such shallow planting is done in moist and soaked earth or soil, it increases the chances of diseases such as downy mildew.

Another major threat to sunflower crops are broomrapes, a family of plants which parasitize the roots of various other plants, including sunflowers. Damage and loss to sunflower crops as a result of broomrape can be as high as 100%.{{cite journal |last1= Encheva |first1= J. |last2= Christov |first2=M. |last3= Shindrova |first3= P. |date= |title= Developing Mutant Sunflower Line (Helianthus Annuus L.) By Combined Used Of Classical Method With Induced Mutagenesis and Embryo Culture Method |url= https://agrojournal.org/14/04-07-08.pdf |journal= Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science |volume= 14 |issue= 4 |pages= 397–404 |access-date=15 October 2014 }}

File:Dwarf sunflower seedling.jpg

In commercial planting, seeds are planted {{convert|45|cm|ft|abbr=on|frac=2}} apart and {{convert|2.5|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=4}} deep.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

Common sunflower was one of several plants cultivated by Native Americans in prehistoric North America as part of the Eastern Agricultural Complex, which also included corn, beans, squash, and a variety of other crops.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-13 |title=Native American - Prehistoric Farming, Agriculture, Cultivation {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Native-American/Prehistoric-farmers |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}} Although it was commonly accepted that the sunflower was first domesticated in what is now the southeastern US, roughly 5,000 years ago,Blackman et al. (2011). [http://www.pnas.org/content/108/34/14360.full]. PNAS. there is evidence that it was first domesticated in MexicoLentz et al. (2008). [http://www.pnas.org/content/105/17/6232.full.pdf. PNAS.] around 2600 BCE. These crops were found in Tabasco, Mexico, at the San Andres dig site. The earliest known examples in the US of a fully domesticated sunflower have been found in Tennessee, and date to around 2300 BCE.Rieseberg, Loren H., et al. (2004). Origin of Extant Domesticated Sunflowers in Eastern North America. Nature 430.6996. 201–205. Other very early examples come from rockshelter sites in Eastern Kentucky.Henderson & Pollack (2012). [https://heritage.ky.gov/Documents/Native_History_KyTeachers.pdf Kentucky history]. Many indigenous American peoples used the sunflower as the symbol of their solar deity, including the Aztecs and the Otomi of Mexico and the Incas in South America. In 1510, early Spanish explorers encountered the sunflower in the Americas and carried its seeds back to Europe.{{cite book |last=Putt, E.D. |title=Sunflower Technology and Production |publisher=American Society of Agronomy |year=1997 |editor=A.A. Schneiter |series=Agronomy Series |volume=35 |location=Madison, Wisconsin |pages=1–19 |chapter=Early history of sunflower}} Of the four plants known to have been domesticated in eastern North AmericaSmith (2006). [http://www.pnas.org/content/103/33/12223.full]. PNAS. and to have become important agricultural commodities, the sunflower is currently the most economically important.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

Research of phylogeographic relations and population demographic patterns across sunflowers has demonstrated that earlier cultivated sunflowers form a clade from wild populations from the Great Plains, which indicates that there was a single domestication event in central North America. Following the cultivated sunflower's origin, it may have gone through significant bottlenecks dating back to ~5,000 years ago.{{Cite journal |last1=Park |first1=Brian |last2=Burke |first2=John M. |date=March 2020 |title=Phylogeography and the Evolutionary History of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.): Wild Diversity and the Dynamics of Domestication |journal=Genes |language=en |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=266 |doi=10.3390/genes11030266 |pmc=7140811 |pmid=32121324 |doi-access=free}}

In the 16th century the first crop breeds were brought from America to Europe by explorers.{{cite book |last=Hancock |first=J.F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bRHaEWvR1uMC |title=Plant Evolution and the Origin of Crop Species |publisher=CABI Pub. |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-85199-874-9 |page=188 |access-date=2022-04-07}} Domestic sunflower seeds have been found in Mexico, dating to 2100 BCE. Native American people grew sunflowers as a crop from Mexico to Southern Canada. They then were introduced to the Russian Empire, where oilseed cultivators were located, and the flowers were developed and grown on an industrial scale. The Russian Empire reintroduced this oilseed cultivation process to North America in the mid-20th century; North America began their commercial era of sunflower production and breeding. New breeds of the Helianthus spp. began to become more prominent in new geographical areas. During the 18th century, the use of sunflower oil became very popular in Russia, particularly with members of the Russian Orthodox Church, because only plant-based fats were allowed during Lent, according to fasting traditions.SUNFLOWERS: The Secret History. (2007). Kirkus Reviews 75.23:1236. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 November 2012. In the early 19th century, it was first commercialized in the village of Alexeyevka in Voronezh Governorate by the merchant named Daniil Bokaryov, who developed a technology suitable for its large-scale extraction, and quickly spread around. The town's coat of arms has included an image of a sunflower ever since.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

In 2024, world production of sunflower seeds was 51.9 million tonnes, led by Russia and Ukraine, with 58% combined of the total.

Researchers have analyzed the impact of various nitrogen-based fertilizers on the growth of sunflowers. Ammonium nitrate was found to produce better nitrogen absorption than urea, which performed better in low-temperature areas.{{cite journal |last1=Spinelli |first1=D |last2=Bardi |first2=L |last3=Fierro |first3=A |last4=Jez |first4=S |last5=Basosi |first5=R |year=2017 |title=Environmental analysis of sunflower production with different forms of mineral nitrogen fertilizers |url=http://ainfo.cnptia.embrapa.br/digital/bitstream/item/138249/1/2015AA039.pdf |journal=The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment |publisher=Journal of Environmental Management |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=492–501 |doi=10.1007/s11367-016-1089-6 |pmid=23974447 |s2cid=112613303}}

Sunflower cultivation typically uses crop rotation, often with cereals, soybean, or rapeseed.{{Citation |last1=Debaeke |first1=Philippe |title=Chapter 16 – Sunflower |date=1 January 2021 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128191941000165 |work=Crop Physiology Case Histories for Major Crops |pages=482–517 |editor-last=Sadras |editor-first=Victor O. |access-date=2023-07-04 |publisher=Academic Press |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-819194-1.00016-5 |isbn=978-0-12-819194-1 |quote=In most countries, sunflower is usually recommended to be grown in 3–4 years rotations, generally with cereals (e.g. wheat, barley, maize and sorghum), soybean, oilseed rape and grain legumes |last2=Izquierdo |first2=Natalia G. |s2cid=243584066 |editor2-last=Calderini |editor2-first=Daniel F.|url-access=subscription }} This reduces idle periods and increases total sunflower production and profitability.{{cite journal |last1=Castro |first1=C. |last2=Leite |first2=Regina |year=2018 |title=Main aspects of sunflower production in Brazil |url=https://www.ocl-journal.org/articles/ocl/pdf/2018/01/ocl170047.pdf |journal= OCL|volume=25 |pages=D104 |doi=10.1051/ocl/2017056 |id={{ProQuest|2036361008}} |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Mastuura |first1=M. I. S. F. |last2=Dias |first2=F. R. T. |last3=Picoli |first3=J. F. |last4=Lucas |first4=K. R. G. |last5=Castro |first5=C. |last6=Hirakuri |first6=M. H. |year=2017 |title=Life-cycle assessment of the soybean-sunflower production system in the Brazilian Cerrado |url=http://ainfo.cnptia.embrapa.br/digital/bitstream/item/138249/1/2015AA039.pdf |journal=The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=492–501 |doi=10.1007/s11367-016-1089-6 |bibcode=2017IJLCA..22..492M |s2cid=112613303}}

{{more citations needed section|reason=A lot of these cultivars are unreferenced.|date=April 2025}}

In today's market, most of the sunflower seeds provided or grown by farmers are hybrids. Hybrids or hybridized sunflowers are produced by cross-breeding different types and species, for example cultivated sunflowers with wild species. By doing so, new genetic recombinations are obtained ultimately leading to the production of new hybrid species. These hybrid species generally have a higher fitness and carry properties or characteristics that farmers look for, such as resistance to pathogens.

Hybrid, Helianthus annuus dwarf2 does not contain the hormone gibberellin and does not display heliotropic behavior. Plants treated with an external application of the hormone display a temporary restoration of elongation growth patterns. This growth pattern diminished by 35% 7–14 days after final treatment.

Hybrid male sterile and male fertile flowers that display heterogeneity have a low crossover of honeybee visitation. Sensory cues such as pollen odor, diameter of seed head, and height may influence pollinator visitation of pollinators that display constancy behavior patterns.{{Cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Cinthia Susic |last2=Farina |first2=Walter M. |date=1 March 2016 |title=Honeybee floral constancy and pollination efficiency in sunflower (Helianthus annuus) crops for hybrid seed production |journal=Apidologie |language=en |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=161–170 |doi=10.1007/s13592-015-0384-8 |issn=0044-8435 |doi-access=free|hdl=11336/44997 |hdl-access=free }}

Sunflowers are grown as ornamentals in a domestic setting. Being easy to grow and producing spectacular results in any good, moist soil in full sun, they are a favourite subject for children. A large number of cultivars, of varying size and color, are now available to grow from seed. The following are cultivars of sunflowers (those marked {{smallcaps|agm}} have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit):{{cite web |date=July 2017 |title=AGM Plants – Ornamental |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf |access-date=3 March 2018 |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society |page=43}}

{{Columns-list|colwidth=15em|

• American Giant
• Arnika
• Autumn Beauty
• Aztec Sun
• Black Oil
• Chianti Hybrid
• Claret {{smallcaps|agm}}{{cite web |url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/165512/Helianthus-annuus-Claret/Details | title = Helianthus annuus 'Claret' | publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2020-08-02}}
• Dwarf Sunspot
• Evening Sun
• Florenza
• Giant Primrose
• Gullick's Variety {{smallcaps|agm}}{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/53769/Helianthus-Gullick-s-Variety/Details | title = Helianthus 'Gullick's Variety' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 1 August 2020}}
• Incredible
• Indian Blanket Hybrid
• Irish Eyes
• Italian White
• Kong Hybrid
• Large Grey Stripe
• Lemon Queen {{smallcaps|agm}}{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/79853/Helianthus-Lemon-Queen/Details | title = Helianthus 'Lemon Queen' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 1 August 2020}}
• Loddon Gold {{smallcaps|agm}}{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/99914/Helianthus-Loddon-Gold/Details | title = Helianthus 'Loddon Gold' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 1 August 2020}}
• Miss Mellish {{smallcaps|agm}}{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/203934/Helianthus-Miss-Mellish/Details | title = Helianthus 'Miss Mellish' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 1 August 2020}}
• Monarch {{smallcaps|agm}}{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/96273/Helianthus-Monarch/Details | title = Helianthus 'Monarch' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 1 August 2020}}
• Mongolian Giant
• Moon-Walker
• Munchkin{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/346263/Helianthus-annuus-Munchkin/Details | title = Helianthus annuus 'Munchkin' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 1 August 2020}}
• Orange Sun
• Pastiche {{smallcaps|agm}}{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/165518/Helianthus-annuus-Pastiche/Details | title = Helianthus annuus 'Pastiche' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 1 August 2020}}
• Peach Passion
• Peredovik
• Prado Red
• Red Sun
• Ring of Fire
• Rostov
• Russian Giant{{cite web | url = https://www.theseedcollection.com.au/sunflower-Giant-Russian | title = Helianthus annuus 'Russian Giant' | access-date = 9 May 2023}}
• Skyscraper
• Solar Eclipse
• Soraya
• Strawberry Blonde
• Sunny Hybrid
• Sunsation Yellow{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/346282/Helianthus-annuus-Sunsation-Yellow-(Sunsation-Series)/Details | title = Helianthus annuus 'Sunsation Yellow' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 1 August 2020}}
• Sunshine
• Taiyo
• Tarahumara
• Teddy Bear {{smallcaps|agm}}{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/168546/Helianthus-annuus-Teddy-Bear-(d)/Details | title = Helianthus annuus 'Teddy Bear' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 1 August 2020}}
• Thousand Suns
• Titan
• Valentine {{smallcaps|agm}}{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/165527/Helianthus-annuus-Valentine/Details | title = Helianthus annuus 'Valentine' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 1 August 2020}}
• Velvet Queen
• Yellow Disk

}}

{{gallery|mode=packed

|Helianthus annuus prado red.jpg|Prado Red

|Sunflower3-2012.jpg|Mammoth Russian

|Helianthus annuus (cultivar) 02.jpg|Teddy Bear

}}

Sunflower "whole seed" (fruit) are sold as a snack food, raw or after roasting in ovens, with or without salt and/or seasonings added. Sunflower seeds can be processed into a peanut butter alternative, sunflower butter. It is also sold as food for birds and can be used directly in cooking and salads. Native Americans had multiple uses for sunflowers in the past, such as in bread, medical ointments, dyes and body paints.Pelczar, Rita. (1993) The Prodigal Sunflower. American Horticulturist 72(8).

Sunflower oil, extracted from the seeds, is used for cooking, as a carrier oil and to produce margarine and biodiesel, as it is cheaper than olive oil. A range of sunflower varieties exist with differing fatty acid compositions; some "high-oleic" types contain a higher level of monounsaturated fats in their oil than even olive oil. The oil is also sometimes used in soap.{{cite book |last1=Niering |first1=William A. |author-link1=William Niering |title=The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region |last2=Olmstead |first2=Nancy C. |publisher=Knopf |year=1985 |isbn=0-394-50432-1 |page=384 |orig-year=1979}} After World War I, during the Russian Civil War, people in Ukraine used sunflower seed oil in lamps as a substitute for kerosene due to shortages. The light from such a lamp has been described as "miserable" and "smoky".Neufeld, Dietrich. A Russian Dance of Death: Revolution and Civil War in the Ukraine. Hyperion: Winnipeg, Canada (1980), p. 50.

The cake remaining after the seeds have been processed for oil is used as livestock feed.Heuzé V., Tran G., Hassoun P., Lessire M., Lebas F., 2016. Sunflower meal. Feedipedia, a programme by INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. https://www.feedipedia.org/node/732 The hulls resulting from the dehulling of the seeds before oil extraction can also be fed to domestic animals.Heuzé V., Tran G., Hassoun P., Lessire M., Lebas F., 2018. Sunflower hulls and sunflower screenings. Feedipedia, a programme by INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. https://www.feedipedia.org/node/733 Some recently developed cultivars have drooping heads. These cultivars are less attractive to gardeners growing the flowers as ornamental plants, but appeal to farmers, because they reduce bird damage and losses from some plant diseases. Sunflowers also produce latex, and are the subject of experiments to improve their suitability as an alternative crop for producing hypoallergenic rubber.

Traditionally, several Native American groups planted sunflowers on the north edges of their gardens as a "fourth sister" to the better-known three sisters combination of corn, beans, and squash.Kuepper and Dodson (2001) [http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/complant.html Companion Planting: Basic Concept and Resources] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524052436/http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/complant.html |date=24 May 2008 }} Annual species are often planted for their allelopathic properties.Nikneshan, P., Karimmojeni, P., Moghanibashi, M., Hosseini, N. (2011) Australian Journal of Crop Science. 5(11):1434–40. {{ISSN|1835-2707}}. [http://www.cropj.com/karimmojeini_5_11_2011_1434_1440.pdf Allelopathic potential of sunflower on weed management in safflower and wheat] It was also used by Native Americans to dress hair. Among the Zuni people, the fresh or dried root is chewed by the medicine man before sucking venom from a snakebite and applying a poultice to the wound.Camazine, Scott and Robert A. Bye (1980) A Study of the Medical Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians of New Mexico. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2:365–388 (p.375) This compound poultice of the root is applied with much ceremony to rattlesnake bites.Stevenson, Matilda Coxe (1915) Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report No. 30 (p.53-54)

However, for commercial farmers growing other commodity crops, the wild sunflower is often considered a weed. Especially in the Midwestern US, wild (perennial) species are often found in corn and soybean fields and can decrease yields. The decrease in yield can be attributed to the production of phenolic compounds which are used to reduce competition for nutrients in nutrient-poor growing areas of the common sunflower.{{Cite journal|last1=Irons|first1=Stephen M.|last2=Burnside|first2=Orvin C.|date=1982|title=Competitive and Allelopathic Effects of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4043628|journal=Weed Science|volume=30|issue=4|pages=372–377|doi=10.1017/S0043174500040789|jstor=4043628|s2cid=89016579 |issn=0043-1745|url-access=subscription}}

Helianthus annuus can be used in phytoremediation to extract pollutants from soil such as lead and other heavy metals, such as cadmium, zinc, cesium, strontium, and uranium. The phytoremediation process begins by absorbing the heavy metal(s) through the roots, which gradually accumulate in other areas, such as the shoots and leaves.{{Cite journal |last1=Zhong |first1=Jiawen |last2=Liu |first2=Yeqing |last3=Chen |first3=Xinheng |last4=Ye |first4=Zihao |last5=Li |first5=Yongtao |last6=Li |first6=Wenyan |date=1 January 2024 |title=The impact of acid rain on cadmium phytoremediation in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749123017803 |journal=Environmental Pollution |volume=340 |issue=Pt 2 |pages=122778 |doi=10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122778 |pmid=37863250 |bibcode=2024EPoll.34022778Z |issn=0269-7491|url-access=subscription }} Helianthus annuus can also be used in rhizofiltration to neutralize radionuclides, such as caesium-137 and strontium-90 from a pond after the Chernobyl disaster.{{cite magazine| last=Adler |first=Tina |title=Botanical cleanup crews: using plants to tackle polluted water and soil |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n3_v150/ai_18518620/?tag=content;col1 |magazine=Science News |date=20 July 1996 |access-date=3 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715211727/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n3_v150/ai_18518620/?tag=content;col1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 July 2011 }} A similar campaign was mounted in response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.{{cite web |agency=Agence France-Presse |url=http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110624/wl_asia_afp/japandisasteraccidentnuclearsunflowers |title=Sunflowers to clean radioactive soil in Japan |via=Yahoo News |date=24 June 2011 |access-date=2011-06-25 |archive-date=2011-07-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701010223/http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110624/wl_asia_afp/japandisasteraccidentnuclearsunflowers }}{{cite news|title=Sunflowers melt Fukushima's nuclear "snow"|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-disaster-sunflowers-idUSTRE77I0PG20110819|access-date=22 January 2012|newspaper=Reuters|date=19 August 2011|author=Antoni Slodkowski|author2=Yuriko Nakao|archive-date=20 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120153502/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/19/us-japan-disaster-sunflowers-idUSTRE77I0PG20110819|url-status=live}}

{{gallery|mode=packed

|Helianthus whorl.jpg|Head displaying florets in spirals of 34 and 55 around the outside

|Sunflower Seeds Kaldari.jpg|Seed dehulled (left) and with hull (right)

|Helianthus annuus pollen 1.jpg|Pollen close-up

}}

File:Anthony van Dyck - Self-portrait with a Sunflower.jpg with sunflower ({{Circa|1633}})]]

File:Vincent Van Gogh - Three Sunflowers F453.jpg – "Lausanne" Sunflowers (1888)]]

According to Iroquois mythology, the first sunflowers grew out of Earth Woman's legs after she died giving birth to her twin sons, Sapling and Flint.{{Cite web|last=Us|first=Kimberly|date=14 November 2021|title=Thanksgiving: Native American Stories, Recipes and Crafts|url=https://kimberlyus.com/thanksgiving-native-american-stories-recipes-and-crafts/|publisher=KimberlyUs.com}}

The Zuni people use the blossoms ceremonially for anthropic worship.Stevenson, p.93 Sunflowers were also worshipped by the Incas because they viewed it as a symbol for the Sun.{{Cite web |title=Sunflower Symbolism & the Meaning of Sunflowers in the Language of Flowers |url=http://livingartsoriginals.com/flower-sunflower.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218225800/http://www.livingartsoriginals.com/flower-sunflower.htm |archive-date=2014-02-18 |access-date=2014-03-07}}

Stories of Clytie the nymph who was spurned by her former lover Helios end with her transformed into what may be translated as sunflower. However, the plant in Greek mythology may be, "partly pale and partly red, and very like a violet". The plant described also exhibits heliotropism, with its face turning towards the sun. This plant may be a species in the genus heliotrope (Heliotropium).{{cite book |last1=Farrar |first1=Frank Albert |url=https://archive.org/details/oldgreeknaturest00farriala/page/204 |title=Old Greek Nature Stories |date=1910 |publisher=G. G. Harrap & company |location=London |pages=203–204 |access-date=21 September 2024}} However, less commonly it is identified as the common marigold (Calendula officinalis).{{cite book |last1=Bernhardt |first1=Peter |title=Gods and Goddesses in the Garden |date=2008 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-4266-9 |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey |page=128}}

During the 19th century, it was believed that nearby plants of the species would protect a home from malaria. The flowers are the subject of Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers series of still-life paintings.

In July 2015, viable seeds were acquired from the field where Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed on a year earlier and were grown in tribute to the 15 Dutch residents of Hilversum who were killed.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/17/mh17-dutch-victims-hilversum-sunflowers |title=Dutch town hard hit by MH17 disaster remembers victims with sunflowers |website=The Guardian |date=17 July 2015 |access-date=30 May 2021}} Earlier that year, Fairfax chief correspondent Paul McGeough and photographer Kate Geraghty had collected 1.5 kg of sunflower seeds from the wreck site for family and friends of the 38 Australian victims, who aimed to give them a poignant symbol of hope.{{cite web |url=https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2015/planting-hope/ |title=Planting hope |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=2015 |access-date=30 May 2021}}

On 13 May 2021, during the National Costume competition of the Miss Universe 2020 beauty pageant, Miss Dominican Republic Kimberly Jiménez wore a "Goddess of Sunflowers" costume covered in gold and yellow rhinestones{{Cite web|url=https://dominicanrepubliclive.com/culture/kimberly-jimenez-parades-in-the-typical-sunflower-costume-at-the-miss-universe-pre-message-gala/|title=Kimberly Jiménez parades in the typical sunflower costume at the Miss Universe pre-message gala|date=13 May 2021}} that included several real sunflowers sewn onto the fabric.

The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine.{{Cite web|url=https://fox4kc.com/news/kansas-news/how-sunflowers-officially-connect-kansas-and-ukraine/|title=How sunflowers officially connect Kansas and Ukraine|date=28 February 2022}} Ukrainians used sunflower as a main source of cooking oil instead of butter or lard forbidden by the Orthodox Church when observing Lent. They were also planted to serve as bioremediation in Chernobyl. In June 1996, U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian officials planted sunflowers at the Pervomaysk missile base where Soviet nuclear weapons were formerly placed.{{cite magazine |last1=Mufarech |first1=Antonia |date=31 March 2022 |title=Why Sunflowers Are Ukraine's National Flower |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-sunflowers-are-ukraines-national-flower-180979850/ |magazine=Smithsonian |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=8 February 2023}} During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a video widely shared on social media showed a Ukrainian woman confronting a Russian soldier, telling the latter to "take these seeds and put them in your pockets so at least sunflowers will grow when you all lie down here".{{Cite web|date=25 February 2022|title=Ukrainian woman offers seeds to Russian soldiers so 'sunflowers grow when they die' – video|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2022/feb/25/ukrainian-woman-sunflower-seeds-russian-soldiers-video|website=The Guardian}} The sunflower has since become a global symbol of resistance, unity, and hope.{{Cite news |last=Hassan |first= Jennifer |date=2 March 2022 |title=The sunflower, Ukraine's national flower, is becoming a global symbol of solidarity|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/02/ukraine-sunflower-solidarity-russia-war/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

The sunflower is also the state flower of the U.S. state of Kansas and one of the city flowers of Kitakyūshū, Japan.

During the late 19th century, the flower was used as the symbol of the Aesthetic Movement.

The sunflower was chosen as the symbol of the Spiritualist Church, for many reasons, but mostly because of the (false) belief that the flowers turn toward the sun as "Spiritualism turns toward the light of truth". Modern Spiritualists often have art or jewelry with sunflower designs.Awtry-Smith, Marilyn J. The Symbol of Spiritualism: The Sunflower. Reprinted from the New Educational Course on Modern Spiritualism. Appendix IV in Talking to the Other Side: A History of Modern Spiritualism and Mediumship, ed. by Todd Jay Leonard. {{ISBN|0-595-36353-9}}.

The sunflower is often used as a symbol of green ideology. The flower is also the symbol of the Vegan Society.

The sunflower is the symbol behind the Sunflower Movement, a 2014 mass protest in Taiwan.

The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower was first used as a visible symbol (typically worn on a lanyard) in May 2016 at London Gatwick Airport. It has since come into common usage throughout the UK and in the Commonwealth more generally.{{Cite web|url=https://sunfieldcenter.com/the-sunflower-lanyard-for-hidden-disabilities/|title=The Sunflower Lanyard for Hidden Disabilities|first=Becca Bordner, Rachel Piper, LMSW, Morgan Nicoll|last=LLMSW|date=28 March 2022}}

{{Reflist}}

• Pope, Kevin; Pohl, Mary E. D.; Jones, John G.; Lentz, David L.; von Nagy, Christopher; Vega, Francisco J.; Quitmyer Irvy R. (18 May 2001). "[http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/292/5520/1370 Origin and Environmental Setting of Ancient Agriculture in the Lowlands of Mesoamerica]". Science, 292(5520):1370–1373.
• Shosteck, Robert (1974) Flowers and Plants: An International Lexicon with Biographical Notes. New York: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co. {{ISBN|9780812904536}}.
• {{cite web|last=Wood|first=Marcia. |url=http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jun02/rubber0602.htm |title=Sunflower Rubber? Agricultural Research.|publisher=USDA |date=June 2002 |access-date=2011-01-31}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Sunflowers}}
• [http://www.sunflowernsa.com National Sunflower Association]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120820112751/http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/soybeans-oil-crops/sunflowerseed.aspx Sunflowerseed]—USDA Economic Research Service. Summary of sunflower production, trade, and consumption and links to relevant USDA reports.
• [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/sunflower.html Sunflower cultivation]—New Crop Resource Online Program, Purdue University

{{Bioenergy|state=collapsed}}

{{US state flowers}}

{{National symbols of Ukraine}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q171497}}

{{Authority control}}

annuus

Category:Flora of Mexico

Category:Flora of the United States

Category:Annual plants

Category:Edible nuts and seeds

Category:Energy crops

Category:Garden plants of North America

Category:Phytoremediation plants

Category:Agriculture in Mesoamerica

Category:Crops originating from Pre-Columbian North America

Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine

Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine

Category:Pre-Columbian California cuisine

Category:Pre-Columbian Great Plains cuisine

Category:Plants described in 1753

Category:Symbols of Kansas

Category:National symbols of Ukraine

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Category:Oil seeds

Category:Symbols of Tocantins