Sunflower is a tall, erect, herbaceous annual plant belonging to the family of Asteraceae, in the genus, Helianthus. Its botanical name is Helianthus annuus. It is native to Middle American region from where it spread as an important commercial crop all over the world through the European explorers. Today, Russian Union, China, USA, and Argentina are the leading producers of sunflower crop.

The sunflower is the state flower of Kansas. That is why Kansas is sometimes called the Sunflower State. To grow well, sunflowers need full sun. They grow best in fertile, wet, well-drained soil with a lot of mulch. In commercial planting, seeds are planted 45 cm (1.5 ft) apart and 2.5 cm (1 in) deep.

In a study in more than 6,000 adults, those who reported eating sunflower seeds and other seeds at least five times a week had 32% lower levels of C-reactive protein compared to people who ate no seeds.

We know sunflowers are inspirational plants, even to famous painters. Vincent Van Gogh loved sunflowers so much, he created a famous series of paintings, simply called ‘sunflowers’.

There are two main types of sunflower crops. One type is grown for the seeds you eat, while the other — which is the majority farmed — is grown for the oil.

Bees are a major pollinator of Sunflowers, therefore, growing sunflowers goes hand in hand with installing and managing bee hives. Particularly in agricultural areas where sunflowers are crops. In fact, bee honey from these areas is commonly known as sunflower honey due to its sunflower taste.

We know sunflowers are inspirational plants, even to famous painters. Vincent Van Gogh loved sunflowers so much, he created a famous series of paintings, simply called ‘sunflowers’.

Sunflower seeds have a mild, nutty flavor and a firm but tender texture. They’re often roasted to enhance the flavor, though you can also buy them raw.

Sunflower seeds contain health benefiting polyphenol compounds such as chlorogenic acid, quinic acid, and caffeic acids. These compounds are natural anti-oxidants, which help remove harmful oxidant molecules from the body. Further, chlorogenic acid helps reduce blood sugar levels by limiting glycogen breakdown in the liver.

Sunflower seeds are about 6 mm to 10 mm in length and feature conical shape with a smooth surface. Their black outer coat (hull) encloses single, gray-white edible-kernel inside. Each sunflower head may hold several hundreds of edible oil seeds.

Another reason to eat sunflower seeds in moderation is their cadmium content. This heavy metal can harm your kidneys if you’re exposed to high amounts over a long period. Sunflowers tend to take up cadmium from the soil and deposit it in their seeds, so they contain somewhat higher amounts than most other foods.

Throughout recent history, sunflowers have been used for medicinal purposes. The Cherokee created a sunflower leaf infusion that they used to treat kidneys. Whilst in Mexico, sunflowers were used to treat chest pain.

Sunflower seeds are about 6 mm to 10 mm in length and feature conical shape with a smooth surface. Their black outer coat (hull) encloses single, gray-white edible-kernel inside. Each sunflower head may hold several hundreds of edible oil seeds.

In August 2018, the Bogle Sunflower Plantation in Canada had to close off its sunflower fields to visitors after an Instagram image went Viral. The image caused a near stampede of photographers keen to get their own instagram image of the 1.4 million sunflowers in a field.

Sunflower flourishes well under well-drained moist, lime soil. It prefers good sunlight. Domesticated varieties bear single large flowerhead (Pseudanthium) at the top. Unlike its domestic cultivar type, wild sunflower plant exhibits multiple branches with each branch carrying its own individual flower-head. The sunflower head consists of two types of flowers. While its perimeter consists of sterile, large, yellow petals (ray flowers), the central disk is made up of numerous tiny fertile flowers arranged in concentric whorls, which subsequently convert into achenes (edible seeds).

If there are no Bees around, or other pollinators, self-pollination is an option. It isn’t ideal for the gene pool, but the seeds in the center of the flower can do this in order to pollinate. So having the ability to be both male and female at least ensures greater survival of the sunflower.

The United States are not the largest producers of sunflowers, and yet even here over 1.7 million acres were planted in 2014 and probably more each year since. Much of which can be found in North Dakota.

Sunflowers are steeped in symbolism and meanings. For many they symbolize optimism, positivity, a long life and happiness for fairly obvious reasons. The less obvious ones are loyalty, faith and luck.

A compound in sunflower seeds blocks an enzyme that causes blood vessels to constrict. As a result, it may help your blood vessels relax, lowering your blood pressure. The magnesium in sunflower seeds helps reduce blood pressure levels as well.

Using an instinctive action called Heliotropism. Also known as ‘Solar Tracking’, the sunflower head moves in synchronicity with the sun’s movement across the sky each day. From East to West, returning each evening to start the process again the next day. Find out more about how this works, and what happens at the end of this phase.

If you choose to, then once the sunflower has bloomed and before it begins to shed it's seeds, the head can be cut and used as a natural bird feeder, or other wildlife visitors to sunflowers to feed on.

There are two main types of Sunflower seeds. They are Black and Grey striped (also sometimes called White) which have a grey-ish stripe or two down the length of the seed. The black type of seeds, also called ‘Black Oil’, are up to 45% richer in Sunflower oil and are used mainly in manufacture, whilst grey seeds are used for consumer snacks and animal food production.

The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a living annual plant in the family Asteraceae, with a large flower head (capitulum). The stem of the flower can grow up to 3 metres tall, with a flower head that can be 30 cm wide. Other types of sunflowers include the California Royal Sunflower, which has a burgundy (red + purple) flower head.

Tournesol is the French name for Sunflower, the literal translation is ‘Turned Sun’, in line with the plants’ ability for solar tracking, sounds fitting. The Spanish word is El Girasolis.

Bees are a major pollinator of Sunflowers growing sunflowers goes hand in hand with installing and managing bee hives.