common sunflower

Also known as Helianthus annuus, sunflower

species of flowering plant in the family of Asteraceae

OverviewAI-generated

Helianthus annuus, commonly known as the common sunflower, is a species of plant in the family Asteraceae. It belongs to the order Asterales and the class Magnoliopsida. The organism is classified as an annual plant and is recognized as a useful, medicinal, and fiber plant. Its scientific authority is cited as L.

The species is native to regions including Arizona, California, Nevada, and various parts of Mexico. Its range also extends to Beijing, China, Fujian, and Tianjin. The common sunflower produces yellow flowers and serves as a source of sunflower seed and sunflower oil. It has uses as food, fodder, and for medicinal purposes.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the species as Least Concern, a status recorded in 2016. The plant is referenced by 1,364 other encyclopedia articles. It is also included in the Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4 focus list.

Synthesized by Vinony from 37 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, IUCN Red List, WoRMS, Plants of the World, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Least Concern

Common sunflower

Species

PhylumTracheophyta
ClassMagnoliopsida
OrderAsterales
FamilyCompositae

Native toArizona, California, Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, Nevada

General: as a by-product. It is a common misconception that sunflower heads Common Name: common sunflower

via IUCN · Kew POWO

~22 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a large annual forb in the daisy family Asteraceae. The domesticated form of common sunflower is harvested for its edible seeds, which come in two types: oil and confectionary seeds. Oilseed sunflowers are widely grown globally and represent the fourth most used vegetable oil in the world. They also are used widely as bird food or as food for livestock. In contrast, confectionary sunflowers are often eaten as a snack food or in baking. There also are horticultural sunflower varieties that are used as plantings in domestic gardens for aesthetics. Wild plants are known for their multiple flower heads, whereas the domestic sunflower often possesses a single large flower head atop an unbranched stem.

Description

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “common sunflower” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.