The Common Sunflower

Common sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are among summer’s most cheerful faces at Clark County Wetlands Park. Unlike the Park’s birds and wildlife, they are rooted in place so we can look at them, enjoy them, and even compose a beautiful photo!

We know the sunflowers best from summer gardens and cut flower arrangements and for the raw or roasted seeds we eat as snack food and package for bird food mixes or make into sunflower “butter” to spread on toast. We also know them for their oil, which is used in cooking, skin care products, margarine, and even in biodiesel fuels and soaps. Those of us with a link to farming or ranching know sunflower “cake,” the leftovers from seed processing widely used as livestock feed. What a beautiful and useful plant to see growing wild along the Park’s trails.

The common sunflower is a North American native, with its original range likely to be in Arizona, Nevada, California, and south into Mexico. It was noted for its edible seeds by Native American societies in what is now the southeastern and southwestern United States and in Mexico between two and five thousand years ago. They adopted and cultivated it along with three other plants (corn, beans, and squash), traditionally called the “three sisters” of agriculture. Over time, Native American farmers increased the size of the sunflower seeds they grew by consistently selecting plants with the largest seeds from each year’s crop as seed stock for the next year.

Sunflower seeds, wild or cultivated, were collected or harvested and stored for winter use. They were quite versatile, and could be prepared for eating by drying, grinding, and sifting to produce flour or meal. The meal could be made into a butter-like spread, a thick gravy, or a dough that was cooked on hot stones. As the sunflower-seed eaters among us know, sunflowers are very tasty! They are also nutritious – high in calories, healthy fats, protein, and fiber, as well as essential vitamins and minerals.

Native American societies also used common sunflowers for a variety of other purposes. The Cochiti people used the juice for wound care. When applied liberally to a cut and covered with a bandage, it was said to prevent infection and promote healing. The Hopi people dried the flower petals, ground them, and mixed them with yellow cornmeal to make a face powder worn in the women’s Basket Dance. The Navajo used the plant for the sun sand painting ceremony, and fashioned snares to catch birds from its stalks. The plant was so useful that Spanish explorers in the Americas carried seed stock back to Europe in the early 1500’s. Today, sunflowers are grown around the globe, with Eastern European countries being the top producers. For example, in 2022, Russia and Ukraine together produced 51% of the world’s commercial crop.

As if all this usefulness to people was not enough to recommend it, the sunflower also has high value for wildlife. Many bugs, beetles, native bees, honeybees, and butterflies are attracted to the flowers. It is a host plant for crescent spot and painted lady butterflies, serving as a nursery and food source for their eggs and larvae. Migrating monarch butterflies sip the nectar in the sunflower blooms as they travel. Hummingbirds also sip the nectar. A variety of small mammals like mice, squirrels, and rabbits feed on its seeds, stems, and leaves. Birds, including mourning doves, grosbeaks, and finches, eat the seeds. Lastly, the dense foliage and tall stalks of the sunflower plant provides needed cover for many “wild things.” 

Common sunflower plants favor open areas with plenty of sunlight, generally on moist soils or soils where water is not far below the surface. Watch for them along the Park trails – their bright flowers will draw your eye! If you have time, observe a sunflower plant for a while. You never know who might come visiting!

– By Chris Leavitt, President; photo by CCWP archives

Please enjoy these YouTube videos!

Common Sunflower Helianthus annuus freeway side common flower in Utah and other states                   BATTLEFOX LIVING EARTH                          3:44

Sunflower Helianthus annuus a North American plant species widely planted globally

Iona Talk Plants      3:46

How Sunflowers Bring All the Bees to the Yard/Deeplook PBS 5:00