Helianthus annuus

A tall, fast-growing annual reaching 3 m (9 ft) high and 0.3 m (1 ft) wide. Flowers from July to September with seeds ripening from September to October. Hardy to UK zone 7, not frost tender. Hermaphroditic and requires cross-pollination by bees and flies. Tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with good drainage. Grows in semi-shade or full sun. Drought-tolerant and adapts to both dry and moist conditions. Attracts wildlife and beneficial insects.

Description

An upright annual plant. It varies in height from 1-4 m. It has a strong tap root. Plants are mostly unbranched but may have some branches. The stems are hairy. The leaves are large and oval to heart shaped. They have teeth around the edges. They are roughly hairy and mid to dark green. Leaves can be 10-40 cm long by 5-20 cm wide. The leaf stalk is long. The flowers are yellow and daisy like. Flowers are 9-20 cm across. Sometimes they are tinged red or purple.

Edible Uses

Sunflower seeds can be eaten raw or cooked and have a delicious nut-like flavour, though extracting them is fiddly due to their small size; commercial machines are available for this purpose. Rich in fats, the seeds can be ground into a powder, made into sunflower butter, or used to prepare seed yoghurt — for the latter, germinated seeds are blended with water and left to ferment. Sprouted seeds can also be eaten raw. Mixed with cereal flours, ground seed makes a nutritious bread. Russian cultivars have been developed with up to 50% oil content, and the oil contains between 44–72% linoleic acid. Per 100g of fresh seed: 560 calories; water 4.8%; protein 24g; fat 47.3g; carbohydrate 19.4g; fibre 3.8g; ash 4g; calcium 120mg; phosphorus 837mg; iron 7.1mg; sodium 30mg; potassium 920mg; vitamin A 30mg; thiamine (B1) 1.96mg; riboflavin (B2) 0.23mg; niacin 5.4mg. Young flower buds can be steamed and served like globe artichokes — mild and pleasant, though fiddly. Average seed yields range from 900–1,575 kg/ha, with reported yields exceeding 3,375 kg/ha. A high-quality edible semi-drying oil pressed from the seed is low in cholesterol and considered equal in quality to olive oil; it is used in salads, margarines, and cooking. The roasted seed serves as a coffee and drinking chocolate substitute; one source notes the roasted hulls are used for this purpose. The leaf petioles can be boiled and mixed with other foods.

Traditional Uses

An edible oil is extracted from the seeds and used for cooking. Sometimes seeds are eaten raw or roasted. The seeds can be ground into a meal for using in bread and cakes. They are also dried, roasted and ground and used as a coffee substitute. The seeds are boiled with water and honey to make a drink. The germinated seeds are fermented into a yogurt or cheese. The young flower buds are steamed and served like globe artichokes.

Medicinal Uses

A tea made from the leaves is astringent, diuretic, and expectorant, used in treating high fevers. Crushed leaves are applied as a poultice on sores, swellings, snakebites, and spider bites. Leaves are harvested as the plant comes into flower and dried for later use. A tea from the flowers is used to treat malaria and lung ailments. The flowering head and seeds are febrifuge, nutritive, and stomachic. The seeds are also considered diuretic and expectorant and have been used with success in treating pulmonary complaints. A decoction of the roots is applied as a warm wash to relieve rheumatic aches and pains.

Known Hazards

The growing plant can accumulate nitrates, especially when fed on artificial fertilizers. The pollen or plant extracts may cause allergic reactions.

Distribution

A temperate plant. It suits the highlands of the tropics and can stand a light frost. It needs a well drained soil. It prefers a rich soil. It is drought and frost resistant. Sunflowers grow from the equator to 55°N latitude. They do not suit the wet tropics. They cannot tolerate very acid soils. It can grow in arid places. In Hobart Botanical gardens. In Nepal it grows up to 600 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 4-11. In Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Balkans, Bangladesh, Botswana, Britain, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Caucasus, Central Africa, Central America, Central Asia, Chile, China, Congo DR, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Ecuador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Europe, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, Hungary, India, Indochina, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Macedonia, Malawi, Mauritania, Mediterranean, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, North America*, Norway, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Sahel, Scandinavia, SE Asia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Thailand, Turkey, Türkiye, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA*, West Africa, West Indies, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils, including poor soils provided they are deep and well-drained, but it grows best in a deep rich soil. Plants are intolerant of acid or waterlogged conditions. Especially when grown for its edible seed, the plant prefers a sunny position though it also tolerates light shade. Requires a neutral or preferably calcareous soil. As sunflowers have highly efficient root systems, they can be grown in areas which are too dry for many other crops. Established plants are quite drought-resistant except during flowering. The sunflower tolerates an annual precipitation of 20 - 400cm, an average annual temperature in the range of 6 - 28°C and a pH in the range of 4.5 - 8.7. The young growth is extremely attractive to slugs, plants can be totally destroyed by them. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits. The sunflower is a very ornamental plant that is widely grown in gardens and is also a major commercial crop for its edible seed and many other uses. It grows well in Britain, but it does not ripen its seed reliably in this country and so is not suitable for commercial cultivation at the present. It is the state flower of Kansas. Three distinct groups of sunflowers are cultivated:- Giant types grow from 1.8 - 4.2 metres tall with flower heads 30 - 50cm in diameter. The seeds are large, white or gray in colour, sometimes with black stripes, and are the best for culinary purposes, though the oil content is lower than for other types. 'Grey Stripe', 'Hopi Black Dye', 'Mammoth Russian' and 'Sundak' are examples of this type. Semi-dwarf types grow from 1.3 - 1.8 m tall, are early maturing and have heads 17 - 23 cm diameter. The seeds are smaller, black, gray or striped, the oil content is also higher. Examples include 'Pole Star' and 'Jupiter' Dwarf types grow from 0.6 - 1.4 m tall, are early maturing and have heads 14 - 16 cm in diameter[269. The seeds are small but the oil content is the highest. Examples include 'Advance' and 'Sunset'. Some forms are being bred for greater cold tolerance and should be more reliable in Britain. Plants tend to grow better in the south and south-west of England. Most forms require a four month frost-free growing season, though some Russian cultivars can mature a crop in 70 days. When plants are grown in cooler latitudes the seed contains higher proportions of polyunsaturated fatty oils. The plant has a strong taproot that can penetrate the soil to depth of 3 metres, it also has a large lateral spread of surface roots. Sunflowers grow badly with potatoes but they do well with cucumbers and corn. A very greedy and vigorous plant, it can inhibit the growth of nearby plants. Plants tend to impoverish the soil if they are grown too often in the same place. In garden design, as well as the above-ground architecture of a plant, root structure considerations help in choosing plants that work together for their optimal soil requirements including nutrients and water. The predictable growth behaviour makes it easier to maintain without having to apply containment methods.

Propagation

Sow seed in mid spring directly in situ. For an earlier start, sow 2–3 seeds per pot in a greenhouse in early spring using a fairly rich compost. Thin to the strongest seedling, give occasional liquid feeds to prevent nutrient deficiency, and plant out in late spring or early summer. Seed harvested at 12% moisture content and stored properly will remain viable for several years.

Other Uses

A semi-drying oil from the seed — present at up to 45% in some varieties — is used mixed with drying oils such as linseed to make soap, candles, varnishes, and paint, and also for lighting. It is said to be unrivalled as a lubricant. Blotting paper is made from the seed receptacles, and a high-quality writing paper is made from the inner stalk. The pith of the stems is one of the lightest known substances, with a specific gravity of 0.028, and is used in life-saving appliances and microscope slides. Dried stems make an excellent fuel with ash rich in potassium; both dried stems and empty seed receptacles serve as excellent kindling. Stem fibre is used to make paper and fine cloth. A yellow dye comes from the flowers, and a purple-black dye is obtained from the seeds of certain varieties grown by the Hopi Indians of south-west North America. Grown as a spring-sown green manure, sunflowers produce a good bulk of material. Root secretions can inhibit the growth of nearby plants. The plant is a good bee plant providing large quantities of nectar, and the flowers attract beneficial insects including lacewings and parasitic wasps that prey on pests, especially aphids.

Production

Time to maturity is usually 4-5 months. Seeds are ready to eat when the flower starts to wither.

Other Information

A major crop for oil seed. The seeds contain 40% oil. It is cultivated.

Notes

Almost all Helianthus (70 species) in N and S America are edible. Elias, T.S. & Dykeman P.A., 1990, Edible Wild Plants. A North American Field guide. Sterling, New York p 156

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Aditya-bhaktichettu, Bunga matahari, Chhouk rath, Flor del sol, Girasol guacho, Gulberoj, Intipangara, Intitica, Maravilla, Mirasol, Mzesumzira, Nanala, Navadna sončnica, Negya, Solsikke, Surajamakha, Surjomukhi bij, Suryakanti, Suryamykhi, Suryaphul, Tournesol, Tshiteaduvha, Xiang ri kui

References (77)

• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 259
• Anderson, E. F., 1993, Plants and people of the Golden Triangle. Dioscorides Press. p 212
• Anderson, M. K., 2012, Edible Seeds and Grains of California Tribes and the Klamath Tribe of Oregon in the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Museum of Anthropology Collections, University of California, Berkeley. USDA p 50
• Bernholt, H. et al, 2009, Plant species richness and diversity in urban and peri-urban gardens of Niamey, Niger. Agroforestry Systems 77:159-179
• Bianchini, F., Corbetta, F., and Pistoia, M., 1975, Fruits of the Earth. Cassell. p 238

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