Interesting Facts about SUNFLOWERS

• Sunflower is the only flower with a flower in its name. 

• “Helianthus” is the scientific name of Sunflower, Helia for Sun and Anthus for Flower.

• Sunflowers are the symbol of faith, loyalty and adoration.

• They follow the movement of the sun across the sky from east to west, and this process is known as  heliotropism.

• Sunflower oil was able to soften leather, condition hair, wounds, and also used as cooking oil, medicine paint, animal feed and biodiesel. 

• Oil of sunflower is rich in minerals like calcium and iron and contains vitamin A and Vitamin D. 

• Sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine and is the state flower of  Kansas. 

• Sunflowers are one of the fastest growing plants and they grow tall. On an average, they grow up to 8-12 feet within six months.

• The Guinness world record for the tallest sunflower is 25 feet 5 ½ inches, grown by M Heijims in Oirschot, Netherlands in1986. 

• Sunflower with largest flower head is 32 ¼ inches in diameter (measured from the outer tip of the petal on one side to the outer tip of the petal on the opposite side), was grown by Emily Martin in Maple Ridge, British Columbia,  Canada in 1983.

• Sunflowers are a great choice for planting to attract birds to your yard.

• It requires only 90 to 100 days from planting to maturity.

• There are two kinds of sunflower seeds. Oil is made from black seeds and snacks are made from striped seeds. Sunflower seeds are also used to feed birds.

• Bonsai technique was used to make the shortest mature sunflower record with 2 inches in height.

• Cultivated sunflowers have a single stem and a large seed head, while in wild they are highly branched with small heads and seeds.