HELIANTHUS annuus Sunflower ____________________________________ Type: Perennial Height: 2-6' (60cm-2m) Flowering Time: Summer Flower Colour: Yellow, orange, maroon ____________________________________ Botanical Classification: Class: Angiospermae (Angiosperms) Subclass: Dicotyledonae (Dicotyledons) Superorder: Asteridae (Daisy Superorder) Order: Asterales (Daisy Order) Family: Asteraceae (Daisy Family) Genus: Helianthus (Sunflower) Species: annuus (annual) ____________________________________

Helianthus annuus must be one of the most popular summer annuals. It is grown by children and adults because it is fast growing and needs almost no attention to produce its plate-sized flowers on tall plants, usually with yellow petals surrounding a large brown centre. New varieties have been produced with flowers in all shades from lime green, through yellows and oranges, to mahogany, with both single and double blooms.

In some places, it is grown as a crop, sometimes as a cut flower, but mainly for its seeds, which are used to produce cooking oil and as a healthy snack, as well as for bird and animal feed. In gardens, the seedheads also attract wild birds in autumn.

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Harvesting and Growing from Seed:

	Seed Pod There is no seedpod. The seeds are packed tightly together in the centre of the dead flower head.
	Seed The seeds are large, often striped, tear-drops. There are many seeds on each seedhead.
	Seedling The seedling is large, with rounded seed leaves. The first true leaves are pointed.
Seed sowing and Germination Spring: Seeds sown inside in spring germinated in 4 days. Seeds sown outside germinated in 3 days.