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common sunflower

Helianthus annuus

Summary 2

Helianthus annuus, the common sunflower, is a large annual forb of the genus Helianthus grown as a crop for its edible oil and edible fruits (sunflower seeds). This sunflower species is also used as bird food, as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), and in some industrial applications. The plant was first domesticated in the Americas. Wild Helianthus annuus is a widely branched annual plant with many flower heads. The domestic sunflower, however,...

Ethnobotanic 3

The ethnobotanic uses for sunflowers mainly center upon the consumption of the plant. The seeds can be eaten raw, roasted, cooked, dried, and ground, plus it can be used as a source of oil. The roasted seeds can also be used as a coffee substitute. Aside from the edible uses for sunflower, there are also medicinal properties of the plant. It is believed that the sunflower can be used as a 'home remedy' for cuts from the juice of freshly crushed sunflower stems. This was then smeared over an area, bandaged, and never lead to an infection.

The plant also lends itself well to natural dyes. The purple and black dyes that are extracted were used to dye materials for use in baskets, and the plant also produces yellow dye from the flowers.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) dirstine, all rights reserved, uploaded by dirstine
  2. Adapted by abbyevans from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helianthus_annuus
  3. (c) abbyevans, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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