What Is a Sunflower? A Complete Guide to Sunflower Basics

Other Names for the Sunflower

The sunflower is an annual herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae family, also known as "chaoyanghua", "wangrilian" and "taiyanghua". The sunflower's place of origin is South America, and it is now grown all over the world, including Europe, Russia and China.

Morphological Characteristics of the Sunflower

The sunflower's stem is a thick, upright stem, overall round with many ridges, and covered with coarse white hairs.

The sunflower's leaves are generally alternate, usually ovate or heart-shaped ovate, with rough hairs on both sides of the blade.

The sunflower's inflorescence is a very large head, borne singly at the end of a branch or at the top of the stem, and it usually nods downward when in bloom.

The sunflower's fruit is an obovate or ovate-oblong achene, namely the "sunflower seed", with a lignified pericarp that is black or gray.

Growing Habits of the Sunflower

Sunflowers can be planted in all four seasons, but summer and winter are best. Sunflowers grow very quickly, generally taking only about 2 months from planting to flowering, and the longest flowering period is about two weeks or more.

The Value and Uses of the Sunflower

Edible value: because the sunflower's seeds contain a large amount of oil, it has high edible value and is an excellent oil crop; the seeds can be pressed for oil or stir-fried for eating.

Medicinal value: many parts of the sunflower plant can be used as medicine, with various effects such as clearing heat and resolving phlegm, dispelling wind and removing toxins, and draining dampness and relieving pain.

Purification value: the sunflower has a greening function of remediating soil; while its root system absorbs nutrients, it can also extract harmful pollutants from the soil.

The Flower Language of the Sunflower

The sunflower's primary symbolic meaning is "the sun", and it also carries other meanings such as "adoration" and "silent love".