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from Natural Life Magazine,
May/June 1999
Sunflower remains have been found in North American archaeological sites dating from as early as 3,000 BC. The centre of origin for wild sunflowers is considered to be the Western Plains of North America, but the ancestors of the cultivated type have been traced to the American southwest or the Missouri-Mississippi River valley areas. .The sunflower and our indigenous people shared the land and had close contact in early North American history. For most Indians, the primary use of the sunflower was for food. The seeds were lightly roasted, then ground into flour and used in breads or cooked with vegetables. Spanish explorers, while looking for gold and other treasures, collected many of the New World’s flora, introducing the sunflower to Europe for its ornamental qualities. By 1616, the sunflower was common in gardens in England. The sunflower spread quickly throughout most of Europe. But it is in Russia that the European success story really starts. The Holy Orthodox Church of Russia forbade the use of many foods during Lent and Advent, including many that were rich in oil. So the Russians eagerly accepted the sunflower, recognizing it as a source of oil that could be eaten without breaking the church laws. Russia soon became the foremost producer of sunflower seed, breeding the plant for high oil content and improved resistance. The sunflower is a member of the Compositae family, the second largest flowering plant family, and one of the most highly developed from an evolutionary standpoint. Other members of the Compositae family include the aster, marigold, dandelion, black-eyed susan and lettuce. Sunflowers are of the genus Helianthus, coming from the Greek words helios – sun, and anthos – flower. The simple beauty of a sunflower becomes more complicated with closer inspection. The sunflower head contains two types of flowers: the ray flowers and the disk flowers. The ray flowers – or petals – are broad-based and ring the outer edge of the flower head. They serve as attention getters, waving to hearby insects, luring them to the flower centre. The centre flowers, called disk flowers, are tubular in shape and require pollen from another sunflower plant to be fertilized. The insects cross-pollinate the disk flowers, which then develop into seeds. The height of the common sunflower ranges from three to 12 feet, with some reaching 18 feet. The most widely grown variety for edible seed is Mammoth. First offered in the 1880s by a U.S. seed catalogue, it was listed as Mammoth Russian. One of the tallest sunflowers, Mammoth is most often used to produce prize-winning seed heads. Sunflowers will grow in almost any type of soil, tolerate most variations of wetness, and require little pest control. However, they must have lots of ... To read the rest of this article, subscribe to Natural Life's digital edition. Wendy Priesnitz is the Editor of Natural Life Magazine and a journalist with over 30 years of experience. She has also authored nine books. Read her blog. |
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Last year I didn’t have to plant my garden of
sunflowers; a family of chipmunks sowed more seeds than my garden could
accommodate. But whether planted by design or by small furry mammals, sunflowers
are rich and diverse native plants.
