THE SUN SHAPED FLOWER : SUNFLOWER

My dear children, today I am going to tell you about a very beautiful flower which depicts the sun, the sunflower.

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a plant which is a native to Americas. It has a large flowering head(about 30cm wide) which has small flowers called florets and looks very beautiful. It is called Sunflower because it has a shape which depicts the sun. It's stem can grow up to a height of 3 meters.

Sunflower is the state flower of Kansas

and that's why Kansas is often called the Flower state. This flower needs a full sun for growth. They grow very well in wet and fertile soil. These flowers can be red, orange, yellow. The California Royal Sunflower is burgundy colored which is a mixture of red and purple.These flowers have great use in food industry also. These are roasted in ovens and are served as snacks. Sunflowers can be processed into peanut butter (also called Sunbutter)

It is even used in cooking and salads directly. They are used in medical ointments, dyes and body paints. It is also used as food for birds. Sunflower oil is extracted from it's seeds and used in cooking. 

I hope you liked this article. 

- Aunt Mary