Sunflowers! In the Asteraceae family and within the genus Helianthus, which is comprised of over 70 species, the sunflowers are native to the Americas and have been cultivated for hundreds of years. Sunflowers are grown for their ornamental value, as a food source (seeds of several species and tubers of Jerusalem artichokes), and to make oil.

Along with other asters, sunflowers are actually composed of hundreds of tiny flowers (think where each seed forms, a flower was there), surrounded by larger ray florets.

As the image above shows, the sunflower is an example of an inflorescence, specifically a capitulum (or head). A capitulum is a short dense simple inflorescence of sessile flowers attached to a single receptacle. We learned about different inflorescence types earlier in this blog.

The classic sunflower is generally yellow. However, they can come in other colors as well, such as purple or red. Sunflowers are typically thought of as very tall – and many of them can grow upwards of 12 feet tall! – but there are dwarf sunflowers that can be shorter than 3 feet tall as well.

Sunflowers are a great attraction for all kinds of wildlife including birds and butterflies.

Sunflowers exhibit heliotropism, which is the directional growth of a plant towards the sun. In the case of sunflowers, their flower heads will turn toward the sun as it moves in the sky throughout the day.

All things considered, sunflowers do make a great gardening choice. Keep in mind their towering height if you don’t choose a dwarf variety. They tend to grow best at the back of a garden, or along a fence or side of the home, so they don’t end up shading your other plants.