Helianthus (/ˌhiːliˈænθəs/)[3] is a genus of plants comprising about 70 species.
[4][5] Except for three
species in South America, all Helianthus species are native to North America and Central America.
The common names "sunflower" and "common sunflower" typically refer to the popular annual
species Helianthus annuus, whose round flower heads in combination with the ligules look like the
sun.[6] This and other species, notably Jerusalem artichoke (H. tuberosus), are cultivated
in temperate regions and some tropical regions as food crops for humans, cattle, and poultry, and as
ornamental plants.[7] The species H. annuus typically grows during the summer and into early fall,
with the peak growth season being mid-summer.[8]
Perennial sunflower species are not as common in garden use due to their tendency to spread
rapidly and become invasive. The whorled sunflower, Helianthus verticillatus, was listed as an
endangered species in 2014 when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule protecting it
under the Endangered Species Act. The primary threats are industrial forestry and pine plantations
in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. They grow to 1.8 m (6 ft) and are primarily found in
woodlands, adjacent to creeks and moist, prairie-like areas.[9]
Contents
1Description
o 1.1Origin
o 1.2Morphology
o 1.3Growth stages
2Production
o 2.1Fertilizer use
o 2.2Production in Brazil
3Diversity
o 3.1Accepted species
o 3.2Formerly included
4Gallery
5See also
6References
Description[edit]
Close-up of a sunflower
The disk of a sunflower is made up of many little flowers. The ray flowers here are dried
A field of sunflowers in North Carolina
Sunflower florets are arranged in a natural spiral having a Fibonacci sequence
Origin[edit]
Sunflowers originate in the Americas. They were first domesticated in what is now Mexico and
the Southern United States.[10][11] Native American people grew sunflowers as a crop from Mexico to
Southern Canada.[11] In the 16th century the first crop breeds were brought from America to Europe
by explorers.[11]
Morphology[edit]
Sunflowers are usually tall annual or perennial plants that in some species can grow to a height of
300 cm (120 in) or more. They bear one or more wide, terminal capitula (flower heads), with bright
yellow ray florets at the outside and yellow or maroon (also known as a brown/red) disc florets
inside. Several ornamental cultivars of H. annuus have red-colored ray florets; all of them stem from
a single original mutant.[12] During growth, sunflowers tilt during the day to face the sun but stop once
they begin blooming. This tracking of the sun in young sunflower heads is called heliotropism. By the
time they are mature, sunflowers generally face east.[13] The movement of sunflowers through
heliotropism happens as the sunflower follows the sun, the opposite side of the sunflower stem
begins to accumulate growth hormones and this causes growth which redirects the sunflower.[14] The
rough and hairy stem is branched in the upper part in wild plants but is usually unbranched in
domesticated cultivars.
The petiolate leaves are dentate and often sticky. The lower leaves are opposite, ovate, or often
heart-shaped. They are distinguished technically by the fact that the ray florets (when present) are
sterile, and by the presence on the disk flowers of a pappus that is of two awn-like scales that
are caducous (that is, easily detached and falling at maturity). Some species also have additional
shorter scales in the pappus, and one species lacks a pappus entirely. Another technical feature that
distinguishes the genus more reliably, but requires a microscope to see, is the presence of a
prominent, multicellular appendage at the apex of the style. Further, the florets of a sunflower are
arranged in a natural spiral.[15]
Variability is seen among the perennial species that make up the bulk of those in the genus. Some
have most or all of the large leaves in a rosette at the base of the plant and produce a flowering
stem that has leaves that are reduced in size. Most of the perennials have disk flowers that are
entirely yellow, but a few have disk flowers with reddish lobes. One species, H. radula, lacks ray
flowers altogether.
Helianthus species are used as food plants by the larvae of many lepidopterans. The seeds of H.
annuus are used as human food.
Growth stages[edit]
The growth of a sunflower depends strictly on its genetic makeup and background.[16] Additionally,
the season it is planted will have effects on its development. Sunflower development is classified by
a series of vegetative stages and reproductive stages that can be determined by identifying the
heads or main branch of a single head or branched head.[16]
Production[edit]
Fertilizer use[edit]
The Journal of Environmental Management has analyzed the impact of various nitrogen-based
fertilizers on the growth of sunflowers. Ammonium nitrate was found to produce better nitrogen
absorption than urea, which performed better in low-temperature areas.[17]
Production in Brazil[edit]
In Brazil, a unique system of production called the soybean-sunflower system is used: sunflowers
are planted first, and then soybean crops follow, reducing idle periods and increasing total sunflower
production and profitability. Sunflowers are usually planted in the extreme southern or northern
regions of the country. Frequently, in the southern regions, sunflowers are grown in the beginning of
rainy seasons, and soybeans can then be planted in the summer.[18] Researchers have concluded
that the soybean-sunflower method of plantation could be further improved through changes in
fertilizer use. The current method has been shown to have positive environmental impacts.[19]