Sunflower
Sunflower
Food Plant
A tall summer flower whose young heads turn to follow the sun, with seeds packed in spiralling patterns.
💡 Fun Facts
- A sunflower can grow taller than an adult in a single summer!
- Young sunflower heads slowly turn to follow the sun across the sky — this is called heliotropism.
- The seeds are packed in beautiful spirals that follow a special maths pattern (the Fibonacci sequence).
📅 Through the Year
- Flowering:July to September
- Fruiting:September to October
Name Story
Helianthus annuus
means “the yearly sun-flower”
What does its name mean?
- Helianthus — sun-flowerGreek helios ‘sun’ + anthos ‘flower’
- annuus — yearlyLatin annuus ‘lasting a single year’
Its great golden head looks just like a little sun, rays and all — which is exactly what the name means. (A fully-open sunflower doesn’t chase the sun across the sky, though: only the young buds swivel, and the grown flower settles facing east to catch the morning light.)