Editing Common sunflower (section)

==Uses==
Sunflower "whole seed" (fruit) are sold as a snack food, raw or after roasting in ovens, with or without salt and/or seasonings added. Sunflower seeds can be processed into a peanut butter alternative, [[sunflower butter]]. It is also sold as food for birds and can be used directly in cooking and salads. Native Americans had multiple uses for sunflowers in the past, such as in bread, medical ointments, dyes and body paints.<ref>Pelczar, Rita. (1993) The Prodigal Sunflower. ''American Horticulturist'' 72(8).</ref>

Sunflower oil, extracted from the seeds, is [[Cooking oil|used for cooking]], as a [[carrier oil]] and to produce [[margarine]] and [[biodiesel]], as it is cheaper than [[olive oil]]. A range of sunflower varieties exist with differing fatty acid compositions; some "high-oleic" types contain a higher level of monounsaturated fats in their oil than even olive oil. The oil is also sometimes used in soap.<ref name="Audubon">{{cite book |last1=Niering |first1=William A. |author-link1=William Niering |title=The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region |last2=Olmstead |first2=Nancy C. |publisher=Knopf |year=1985 |isbn=0-394-50432-1 |page=384 |orig-year=1979}}</ref>  After [[World War I]], during the [[Russian Civil War]], people in Ukraine used sunflower seed oil in lamps as a substitute for [[kerosene]] due to shortages. The light from such a lamp has been described as "miserable" and "smoky".<ref>Neufeld, Dietrich.  ''A Russian Dance of Death: Revolution and Civil War in the Ukraine''. Hyperion: Winnipeg, Canada (1980), p.&nbsp;50.</ref>

The cake remaining after the seeds have been processed for oil is used as livestock feed.<ref>Heuzé V., Tran G., Hassoun P., Lessire M., Lebas F., 2016. Sunflower meal. Feedipedia, a programme by INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. https://www.feedipedia.org/node/732</ref> The hulls resulting from the dehulling of the seeds before oil extraction can also be fed to domestic animals.<ref>Heuzé V., Tran G., Hassoun P., Lessire M., Lebas F., 2018. Sunflower hulls and sunflower screenings. Feedipedia, a programme by INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. https://www.feedipedia.org/node/733</ref> Some recently developed [[cultivar]]s have drooping heads. These cultivars are less attractive to [[Gardening|gardeners]] growing the flowers as [[ornamental plant]]s, but appeal to farmers, because they reduce bird damage and losses from some [[phytopathology|plant diseases]]. Sunflowers also produce [[latex]], and are the subject of experiments to improve their suitability as an alternative crop for producing [[hypoallergenic]] rubber.

Traditionally, several Native American groups planted sunflowers on the north edges of their gardens as a "fourth sister" to the better-known [[Three Sisters (agriculture)|three sisters]] combination of [[Maize|corn]], [[beans]], and [[Squash (plant)|squash]].<ref>Kuepper and Dodson (2001) [http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/complant.html Companion Planting: Basic Concept and Resources] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524052436/http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/complant.html |date=24 May 2008 }}</ref> Annual species are often planted for their [[Allelopathy|allelopathic]] properties.<ref>Nikneshan, P., Karimmojeni, P., Moghanibashi, M., Hosseini, N. (2011) ''Australian Journal of Crop Science.'' 5(11):1434–40. {{ISSN|1835-2707}}. [http://www.cropj.com/karimmojeini_5_11_2011_1434_1440.pdf Allelopathic potential of sunflower on weed management in safflower and wheat]</ref> It was also used by Native Americans to dress hair.<ref name=Audubon/> Among the [[Zuni people]], the fresh or dried root is chewed by the [[medicine man]] before sucking venom from a snakebite and applying a [[poultice]] to the wound.<ref>Camazine, Scott and Robert A. Bye (1980) A Study of the Medical Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians of New Mexico. ''Journal of Ethnopharmacology'' 2:365–388 (p.375)</ref> This compound poultice of the root is applied with much ceremony to rattlesnake bites.<ref>Stevenson, Matilda Coxe (1915) Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report No. 30 (p.53-54)</ref>

However, for commercial farmers growing other commodity crops, the wild sunflower is often considered a weed. Especially in the Midwestern US, wild (perennial) species are often found in corn and soybean fields and can decrease yields. The decrease in yield can be attributed to the production of phenolic compounds which are used to reduce competition for nutrients in nutrient-poor growing areas of the common sunflower.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Irons|first1=Stephen M.|last2=Burnside|first2=Orvin C.|date=1982|title=Competitive and Allelopathic Effects of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4043628|journal=Weed Science|volume=30|issue=4|pages=372–377|doi=10.1017/S0043174500040789|jstor=4043628|s2cid=89016579 |issn=0043-1745}}</ref>

===Phytoremediation===
''Helianthus annuus'' can be used in [[phytoremediation]] to extract pollutants from soil such as lead and other heavy metals, such as [[cadmium]], [[zinc]], [[cesium]], [[strontium]], and [[uranium]]. The phytoremediation process begins by absorbing the heavy metal(s) through the roots, which gradually accumulate in other areas, such as the shoots and leaves.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhong |first1=Jiawen |last2=Liu |first2=Yeqing |last3=Chen |first3=Xinheng |last4=Ye |first4=Zihao |last5=Li |first5=Yongtao |last6=Li |first6=Wenyan |date=1 January 2024 |title=The impact of acid rain on cadmium phytoremediation in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749123017803 |journal=Environmental Pollution |volume=340 |issue=Pt 2 |pages=122778 |doi=10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122778 |pmid=37863250 |bibcode=2024EPoll.34022778Z |issn=0269-7491}}</ref> ''Helianthus annuus'' can also be used in [[rhizofiltration]] to neutralize [[radionuclide]]s, such as [[caesium-137]] and [[strontium-90]] from a pond after the [[Chernobyl disaster]].<ref>{{cite magazine| last=Adler |first=Tina |title=Botanical cleanup crews: using plants to tackle polluted water and soil |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n3_v150/ai_18518620/?tag=content;col1 |magazine=Science News |date=20 July 1996 |access-date=3 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715211727/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n3_v150/ai_18518620/?tag=content;col1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 July 2011 }}</ref> A similar campaign was mounted in response to the [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster]].<ref>{{cite web |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |url=http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110624/wl_asia_afp/japandisasteraccidentnuclearsunflowers |title=Sunflowers to clean radioactive soil in Japan |via=Yahoo News |date=24 June 2011 |access-date=2011-06-25 |archive-date=2011-07-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701010223/http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110624/wl_asia_afp/japandisasteraccidentnuclearsunflowers }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Sunflowers melt Fukushima's nuclear "snow"|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-disaster-sunflowers-idUSTRE77I0PG20110819|access-date=22 January 2012|newspaper=Reuters|date=19 August 2011|author=Antoni Slodkowski|author2=Yuriko Nakao|archive-date=20 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120153502/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/19/us-japan-disaster-sunflowers-idUSTRE77I0PG20110819|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Smithsonian" />

{{gallery|mode=packed
|Helianthus whorl.jpg|Head displaying florets in spirals of 34 and 55 around the outside
|Sunflower Seeds Kaldari.jpg|Seed dehulled (left) and with hull (right)
|Helianthus annuus pollen 1.jpg|Pollen close-up
}}