Crops Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

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Common Name	SUNFLOWER
Latin binomial	Helianthus annuus
Plant family	Asteraceae
Names in other languages	tournesol (F), sonnenblume (D), girasol (E)

Sunflowers were probably named for their large, showy flower-heads, and are very popular as ornamental plants; they are native to the temperate regions of North America, where there is a long history of the use of the seeds as a food source, though development as an oilseed crop was undertaken in Russia. Subsequent breeding for crop purposes has concentrated on shortening the stem, discouraging branching, and latterly on the development of high-yielding hybrids. Sunflower is now a very important world source of edible vegetable oil, rich in the unsaturated linoleic acid; the press-cake is valued as a protein-rich animal feedstuff. The main areas of production are Russia, Argentina, Eastern and Western Europe, China and the USA. Sunflower oil is suitable for a range of industrial uses, including the production of biodiesel, and sunflower is grown in parts of Europe (especially France) for this purpose. In addition, varieties with the seed oil rich in oleic acid have been developed in the USA; these are intended for industrial purposes and some areas are grown in Southern Europe.

This entry forms part of the publication Crops for Industry and Energy in Europe

References:

Bremness, L (1988) The Complete Book of Herbs. London: Dorling Kindersley & National Trust.

Hall, D O & Overend, R P (Eds) (1987) Biomass: Regenerable Energy. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Langer, R H M & Hill, G D (1991) Agricultural Plants (2nd Edn) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Perry, F (1972) Flowers of the World. London: Hamlyn Press.

Robellen, G, Downey, K R & Ashri, A (Eds) (1989) Oil Crops of the World: their Breeding and Utilisation. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Salunkhe, D K, Chaven, J K, Adsule, R N & Kadam, S S (1992) World Oilseeds: Chemistry Technology and Utilisation. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Sauer, J D (1994) Historical Geography of Crop Plants: a Select Roster. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

Industrial Crops and Products. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science B V

Relevant EC funded projects:
AIR-2003
AGRE-0039
AGRE-0029
FAIR-1625
FAIR-1946
FAIR-2069