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The common sunflower ( Helianthus annuus) is a species of large Annual plant forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its Sunflower seed, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the production of cooking oil, as food for livestock, as bird food, and as plantings in domestic gardens for aesthetics. Wild plants are known for their multiple flower heads, whereas the domestic sunflower often possesses a single large flower head atop an unbranched stem.
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.
This alignment results from heliotropism in an earlier development stage, the young flower stage, before full maturity of flower heads (anthesis). 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. 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.
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.
A model for the pattern of in the head of a sunflower was proposed by H. Vogel in 1979. This is expressed in polar coordinates
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.
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. Though not giving much detail, the Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder also lists it as native to the Western United States and Canada. 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. Regardless of its original range, it can now be found in almost every part of the world that is not tropical, desert, or tundra.
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 , a family of plants which parasite 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%.
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.
In the 16th century the first crop breeds were brought from America to Europe by explorers. 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 Great 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.
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In 2024, world production of was 51.9 million tonnes, led by Russia and Ukraine, with 58% combined of the total.
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.
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 of sunflowers (those marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit):
Sunflower oil, extracted from the seeds, is Cooking oil, 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. (1985). 9780394504322, Knopf. ISBN 9780394504322 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.
/ref> Some recently developed have drooping heads. These cultivars are less attractive to Gardening growing the flowers as , but appeal to farmers, because they reduce bird damage and losses from some phytopathology. 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 Maize, beans, and squash.Kuepper and Dodson (2001) Companion Planting: Basic Concept and Resources Annual species are often planted for their Allelopathy properties.Nikneshan, P., Karimmojeni, P., Moghanibashi, M., Hosseini, N. (2011) Australian Journal of Crop Science. 5(11):1434–40. . 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.
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.
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). However, less commonly it is identified as the common marigold ( Calendula officinalis).
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. Earlier that year, Fairfax Media chief correspondent Paul McGeough and photographer Kate Geraghty had collected 1.5 kg of sunflower seeds from the wreck site memorial of the 38 Australian victims, who aimed to give them a poignant symbol of hope.
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 that included several real sunflowers sewn onto the fabric.
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. .
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.
Phytoremediation
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. Helianthus annuus can also be used in rhizofiltration to neutralize , such as caesium-137 and strontium-90 from a pond after the Chernobyl disaster. A similar campaign was mounted in response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
In culture
According to Iroquois mythology, the first sunflowers Origin myth out of Earth Woman's legs after she Maternal death to her Twin, Hahgwehdiyu.
(2025). 9780813542669, Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9780813542669
Symbolism
The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine. 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. 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". The sunflower has since become a global symbol of resistance, unity, and hope.
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Categories: Annuus, Flora Of Mexico, Flora Of The United States, Annual Plants, Edible Nuts And Seeds, Energy Crops, Garden Plants Of North America, Phytoremediation Plants, Agriculture In Mesoamerica, Crops Originating From Pre-columbian North America, Plants Used In Native American Cuisine, Plants Used In Traditional Native American Medicine, Pre-columbian California Cuisine, Pre-columbian Great Plains Cuisine, Plants Described In 1753, Symbols Of Kansas, National Symbols Of Ukraine, Taxa Named By Carl Linnaeus, Oil Seeds, Symbols Of Tocantins
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