Sunflowers are Beautiful!
Information
Sunflowers are useful plants with large flower heads, or blooms. They
are named for the way they turn their blooms from east to west to follow
the Sun. Sunflowers were first grown in North and South America. Today
they are also grown in other parts of the world, including Europe and
Asia.
Sunflowers are giants among flowers. The rough, hairy stem
grows from 3 to 15 feet (1 to 4.5 meters) tall. The leaves are
wide, rough, and 3 to 12 inches (8 to 30 centimeters) long.
The bloom of a sunflower has two parts. The center is a disk
of small flowers packed closely together. The disk flowers are brown,
yellow, or purple. The flowers around the outside are called ray
flowers. They are golden yellow. Some sunflowers have disks that are 12
inches (30 centimeters) wide.
Sunflower plants have many uses.
The flowers make a yellow dye. The leaves are used to feed animals.
Seeds that come from the disk flowers contain a sweet, yellow oil.
Sunflower oil is used in cooking and in making soaps and paints. Many
people eat dried or roasted sunflower seeds as a snack.