Any plant of the genus Helianthus, so called probably from the form and color of its floral head, having the form of a large disk surrounded by yellow ray flowers; the commonly cultivated sunflower is Helianthus annuus, a native of America
any plant of the genus Helianthus having large flower heads with dark disk florets and showy yellow rays
A flower on a long stalk with a large head and long yellow leaves This makes the flower look like a simple drawing of the sun The sunflower is thought to turn its head to follow the sun from east to west from dawn to sunset
These bright yellow flowers turn and track the sun throughout the day The seeds are either roasted or dried, salted or unsalted The seeds (excluding the shell) are 47% oil and 24% protein by weight
A sunflower is a very tall plant with large yellow flowers. Oil from sunflower seeds is used in cooking and to make margarine. a very tall plant with a large yellow flower and seeds that can be eaten. Any of 60 species of annual herbaceous plants in the genus Helianthus (composite family), native mostly to North and South America. The common sunflower (H. annuus) has a rough, hairy stem 3-15 ft (1-4.5 m) high; broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves 3-12 in. (7.5-30 cm) long; and large (3-6 in., or 7.5-15 cm, in diameter), flat, platelike compound flowers. Disk flowers swirl in a tight brown, yellow, or purple spiral; ray flowers are yellow. The leaves are used as fodder, the flowers yield a yellow dye, and the seeds contain oil and are used for food. The oil is used for cooking, as an ingredient of soaps and paints, and as a lubricant. Only a few species are cultivated, some for their spectacular size
Ornament in the shape of a conventionalized sunflower Often seen on Colonial chests