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Green-seeds.com:
flowers & ornamentals: articles
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Sunflower
Botanical: Helianthus annuus
Family: N.O. Compositae
---Synonyms---Marigold
of Peru. Corona Solis. Sola Indianus. Chrysanthemum Peruvianum.
 The common Sunflower
is a native of Mexico and Peru, introduced into this country in the sixteenth
century and now one of our most familiar garden plants.
It is an annual herb,
with a rough, hairy stem, 3 to 12 feet high, broad, coarselytoothed, rough
leaves, 3 to 12 inches long, and circular heads of flowers, 3 to 6 inches
wide in wild specimens and often a foot or more in cultivation. The flower-heads
are composed of many small tubular flowers arranged compactly on a flattish
disk: those in the outer row have long strap-shaped corollas, forming the
rays of the composite flower.
The genus Helianthus,
to which the Sunflower belongs, contains about fifty species, chiefly natives
of North America; many are indigenous to the Rocky Mountains, others to
tropical America, and a few species are found in Peru and Chile.
They are tall, hardy,
annual or perennial herbs, several of which are grown in gardens, being
of easy cultivation in moderately good soil, and that useful plant of the
kitchen garden, the Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), is
also a member of the genus.
The name Helianthus,
being derived from helios (the sun) and anthos (a flower),
has the same meaning as the English name Sunflower, which it is popularly
supposed has been given these flowers from a supposition that they follow
the sun by day, always turning towards its direct rays. But since the word
'Sunflower' existed in English literature before the introduction of H.
annuus, or at any rate before its general diffusion in English gardens,
it is obvious that some other flower must have been intended. The Marigold
(Calendulu officinalis) is considered by Dr. Prior to have been the
plant described by Ovid as turning to the sun, likewise the solsaece
of the Anglo-Saxon, a word equivalent to solsequium (sun-following).
The better explanation for the application of the name to a flower is its
resemblance to 'the radiant beams of the sun.'
In Peru, this flower
was much reverenced by the Aztecs, and in their temples of the Sun, the
priestesses were crowned with Sunflowers and carried them in their hands.
The early Spanish conquerors found in these temples numerous representations
of the Sunflower wrought in pure gold.
In some of the old Herbals
we find the Rock-rose (Helianthemum vulgare) also termed Sunflower,
its flowers opening only in the sunshine. The so-called 'Pigmy sunflower'
is Actinella grandiflora, a pretty perennial 6 to 9 inches high,
from the Colorado mountains.
The Sunflower is valuable
from an economic, as well as from an ornamental point of view. Every
part of the plant may be utilized for some economic purpose. The leaves
form a cattle-food and the stems contain a fibre which may be used
successfully in making paper. The seed is rich in oil, which is said
to approach more nearly to olive oil than any other vegetable oil known
and to be largely used as a substitute. In prewar days, Sunflower seed was
sometimes grown in this country, especially on sewage farms, as an economical
crop for pheasants, as well as poultry. The flowers contain a yellow
dye.
One of the many effects
of the War in its relation to agriculture was the increase in the use of
the Sunflower.
It forms one of the
well-known crops in Russia, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Egypt, India,
Manchuria and Japan. The average acre will produce about 50 bushels of merchantable
seeds, and each bushel yields approximately 1 gallon of oil, for which there
is a whole series of important uses.
The oil is produced
mainly in Russia, but to an increasing extent also in Roumania, Hungary,
Bulgaria and Poland. In 1913 some 180,000 tons of oil were produced, practically
all of which was consumed locally.
The oil pressed from
the seeds is of a citron yellow colour and a sweet taste and is considered
equal to olive oil or almond oil for table use. The resulting oil-cake when
warm pressed, yields a less valuable oil which is used largely for technical
purposes, such as soap-making, candle-making and in the art of wool-dressing.
As a drying oil for mixing paint, it is equal to linseed oil and is unrivalled
as a lubricant.
The residue after the
oil is expressed forms an important cattle-food. This oil-cake is relished
by sheep, pigs, pigeons, rabbits and poultry.
The seed makes excellent
chicken-food and feeding fowls on bruised Sunflower seeds is well known
to increase their laying power.
The seeds of the large-seeded
varieties are also much liked by Russians and are sold in the street as
are chestnuts in this country. Big bowls of Sunflower seeds are to be seen
in the restaurants of railway stations, for people to eat. Indian natives
are also fond of the seeds.
Roasted in the same
manner as coffee, they make an agreeable drink, and the seeds have been
used in Portugal and Russia to make a wholesome and nutritious bread.
The pith of the sunflower
stalk is the lightest substance known; its specific gravity is 0.028, while
that of the Elder is 0.09 and of Cork 0.24. The discovery of the extreme
lightness of the pith of the stalk has essentially increased the commercial
value of the plant. This light cellular substance is now carefully removed
from the stalks and applied to a good many important uses, chiefly in the
making of life-saving appliances. The pith has been recommended for moxa,
owing to the nitre its contains.
---Chemical Constituents---The black-seeded variety
yield between 50 and 60 per cent of the best grade of oil. 
The oil has a specific
gravity of from 0.924 to 0.926, solidifies at 5 degrees F., is slightly
yellowish, limpid, of a sweetish taste and odourless. It dries slowly and
forms one of the best burning oils known, burning longer than any other
vegetable oil.
Ludwig and Kromayer
obtained a tannin which they called Helianthitanic acid, and gave it the
formula Cl4H9O8. On boiling with moderately diluted hydrochloric acid, they
obtained a fermentable sugar and a violet colouring matter. E. Diek found
only small quantities of Inulin, large quantities of Levulin and a dextro-rotatory
sugar.
All parts of the plant
contain much carbonate of potash.
---Extraction---For the extraction of the oil,
the seeds are bruised, crushed and ground to meal in a five-roller mill,
under chilled iron or steel cylinders.
The meal, after being
packed in bags, is placed in hydraulic presses, under a pressure of 300
atmospheres or more, and allowed to remain under pressure for about seven
minutes. All edible oils are thus obtained and are known in commerce as
'cold-drawn oils' or 'cold pressed oils.' As a preliminary operation, the
seeds are freed from dust, sand and other impurities by sifting in an inclined
revolving cylinder or sieving machine, covered with woven wire, having meshes
varying according to the size and nature of the seeds operated upon. This
preliminary purification is of the greatest importance. The seeds are then
passed through a hopper over the rollers, which are finely grooved, so that
the seed is cut up whilst passing in succession between the first and second
rollers in the series, then between the second and the third, and so on
to the last, when the grains are sufficiently bruised, crushed and ground.
The distance between the rollers can be easily regulated, so that the seed
leaving the bottom roller Las the desired fineness. The resulting more or
less coarse meal is either expressed in this state, or subjected to a preliminary
heating, according to the quality of the product to be manufactured. The
oil exuding in the cold dissolves the smallest amount of colouring matter,
etc., and hence has suffered least in its quality.
By pressing in the cold,
only part of the oil or fat is recovered. A further quantity is obtained
by pressing the seed meal at a somewhat elevated temperature, reached by
warming the crushed seeds either immediately after they leave the five-roller
mill, or after the 'cold-drawn oil' has been taken off. The cold pressed
cakes are first disintegrated, generally under an edge-runner. This oil
is of a second-grade quality.
Vertical hydraulic presses
are at present almost exclusively in use, the AngloAmerican type of press
being most employed. It represents an open press, fitted with a number (usually
sixteen) of iron press plates, between which the cakes are inserted by hand.
A hydraulic ram then forces the table carrying the cakes against a press-head
and the exuding oil flows down the sides into a tank below.
According to the care
exercised by the manufacturer in the range of temperature to which the seed
is heated, various grades of oils are obtained.
---Cultivation---In
growing crops of the Sun flower, various methods of planting andspacing
are recommended in different countries. It is best, says a scientific
American authority, to plant in rows running north and south, the seeds
to be placed 9 inches apart, in rows 30 inches apart.
But in this country,
instead of sowing in the open, the most successful growers sow in boxes,
or singly in pots under glass, afterwards planting the seedlings out in
ground that has been well prepared and enriched with manure. Not that rich
soil is essential, practically any kind of soil is suitable so long as it
is open to sun and light and splendid returns of seed have been obtained
from waste land without any preparation beyond digging the soil.
A well-tilled soil is,
however, desirable for successful Sunflower cultivation, preferably with
not too much clay in its composition. It should be well ploughed in the
autumn and harrowed in the spring. A certain depth is necessary, as the
roots will spread from 12 inches to 15 inches in each direction.
In the latter years
of the War, the Ministry of Food and the Food Production Department supplied
full information as to cultivation and harvesting and undertook to purchase
the ripened seed in quantities of 1/2 cwt. and upwards: they were used in
the manufacture of margarine and other essential fats used in the making
of munitions.
The seed should be sown
thinly in boxes in March and when the plants have made three or four leaves,
they should be potted off into small pots and grown on if possible in gentle
heat. Where no heat is available, a cold frame is the next best thing. Provided
that frost can be excluded, a cool, unheated glasshouse may be used.
When established, they
should be gradually hardened off for planting out in May, after all danger
of late spring frosts is past.
Suitable compost for
seeds and potting off is: 1 part leaf mould, 1 part sand, 2 parts loam.
If this is not available, any good garden soil will do and it need not be
very finely sifted. The seeds germinate readily and grow very rapidly.
Ordinary farmyard manure
should be dug into the soil at the rate of 3 cwt. per rod, as they are gross
feeders. The Sunflower plants should be planted 3 feet apart between the
rows and 2 feet from plant to plant in good soils, and slightly closer on
poor soils.
An application of superphosphate
before or at the time of planting, at the rate of 1 1/2 OZ. per square yard
will encourage early maturing of the seed.
It is of interest to
note that the plant assimilates a large quantity of potash and therefore
it must not be planted in the same soil the second year.
Seeds should not be
sown in the open until late in April, only a sunny border being chosen.
The Food Production
Department advised cultivators who intended growing largely for munitions
to sow seed early in May, in drills 1 to 1 1/2 inch deep and stated the
amount of seed required to be at the rate of 1 OZ. to 8 rods, or 1 1/2 lb.
per acre.
In exposed positions,
the plants will require support and this is best done by placing a good
strong stake each end and one in centre of row, and running a length of
wire or thick string from stake to stake and tying the plants to this loosely.
---Harvesting---No
more attention will be needed until the heads commence to ripen, when
they should be looked to daily, as the seed soon falls if left too long
and also, as the seed ripens, garden pests of the larger sort, birds and
squirrels in particular, are always troublesome.
Some growers prevent
the loss caused by the attacks of birds to whom the seeds are particularly
attractive and by the shaking out of the ripe seeds, by surrounding the
heads with bags of rough muslin, but this can only be done when growing
on a small scale. With a large plantation, scare away birds by any of the
usual methods.
It is, of course, impossible
to say exactly when the harvesting should commence. Everything depends upon
climatic conditions. If the weather is warm and dry, the best plan is to
leave the plants alone, so that the ripening process can be carried out
naturally, the heads being cut when about to shed their seeds. In a fine
autumn, Sunflower seed will ripen well in the open and the best results
are got when the seed can thus beallowed to mature.
When the head shrivels
and the seeds are ripe, cut the plants at the ground level, standing them
with their heads uppermost, like shocks or sheaves of corn. When the heads
are thoroughly dry, cut them off and thresh out the remaining seeds by standing
each head on its side and hammering it with a mallet. Store the seeds in
bags, in a dry place.
If the weather is dull
or wet, unfavourable for ripening of the seed out-of-doors, hasten the ripening
by cutting the plants at ground level as soon as the seeds are plump.
Stand them shock-wise,
if possible under cover, in a damp-proof outside house, barn or room, and
wind being as good a drying agent as the sun, see that the store is well
ventilated and leave windows and doors wide open when the weather is propitious.
When the heads shrivel, cut them off and complete drying in a very slow
oven. Place the heads in single layers on the shelves of the oven in the
evening, leaving the door slightly open. Remove them when the fire is made
up in the morning and replace them in the evening.
If a kiln or hop oast
is available, it may be used for finishing off the drying, but if the seeds
are exposed to a high temperature, they will be useless for next year's
sowing.
The important things
to remember are that the seeds are not ready if they cannot be removed from
the heads without difficulty, and they will not keep very long if not dry
when stored.
In Russia, where Sunflowers
are extensively grown for human food the method adopted by the peasants
for removing the seed from the heads is interesting. A wooden disk is made,
through which nails are hammered in rows radiating from the centre. The
disk is attached to a handle and the seed-head is held in contact with the
nails when the disk is turned, with the result that the seed, which is collected
in sacks, is raked out very quickly. The disk is so arranged that one man
can hold the seed-head in position and at the same time turn the handle
to extract the seeds.
The Mammoth or Giant
Sunflower, which comes from Russia and is called the Russian Sunflower,
is the best kind to grow, these being nearly double the size of the ordinary
variety. During the War, the only seed available was the American Giant,
which was said, however, to be equal to the Russian.
The tall Mammoth Sunflower,
bearing heads of an average width of 15 inches, containing 2,000 seeds,
yields about 50 bushels an acre, producing 50 gallons of oil and about 150
lb. of oil-cake, the stems giving 10 per cent of potash.
It has been estimated
in Denmark, that the crops of one season in that country would produce 2,000
tons of seed, yielding 350 tons of oil, and about 1,550 tons of oil-cake
and oil waste to be used as fodder.
With the exception of
Cambridgeshire, the Sunflower grows best in England in the Southern and
South-Western counties.
They have been proved
to do best on deep, stony soil, and it is an advantage to grow them where
bees are kept, as they are much visited by the honey-bee, fertilization
of the flowers ensuing.
---Sunflower-seeds as Poultry and Cattle Food---Sunflower
seeds have a high feeding value - the analysis in round figures is 16 per
cent albumen and 21 per cent fat.
Being so rich in oil,
they are too stimulating to use alone and should only be used in combination
with other feeding stuffs. Fed with oats in equal quantities, they make
a perfectly balanced ration. Since both of these articles contain a big
proportion of indigestible matter, particularly in the husks, grit must
on no account be withheld, if the birds are to derive full benefit.
As food for laying poultry,
it ought in the opinion of some authorities, not to be used in excess of
one-third of the total mixture of corn, owing to its fat-producing properties.
The seeds are palatable
to poultry and greedily devoured by them. A very common way to supply the
birds with the seeds is to hang up the ripe heads just high enough to compel
the chicks to pick them out, for when the heads are thrown into the yard,
they are trodden on and wasted.
Sunflower-seed oil-cake
is a valuable article for bringing up the feeding value of some of the poultry
foods and was specially in demand for this purpose in war-time, when the
supply of good cereals ran short. It is more fattening to cattle than Linseed
cake, being richer in nitrogenous substances, containing 34 per cent albumen.
As well as being an excellent food for poultry, and also for rabbits, it
keeps both horses and cattle in good condition. It is said that cows, fed
on Sunflower-seed oil-cake, mixed with bran, will have an increased flow
of good, rich milk.
It is largely exported
by Russia to Denmark, Sweden and elsewhere for stock feeding.
---Sunflower
Plants as Green Food---With Sun flowers there need be little waste.
Thegreen leaves, when gathered young, make a good succulent green food
for poultry stock of all ages. They can be finely minced up and added
- raw - to the mash for young or adult stock, or they can be boiled and
put in the soft food. The leaves are much appreciated by rabbits, horses,
cows and other stock.
The dried
leaves can be rubbed up or reduced to a meal form and be well scalded
prior to inclusion in the mash, and the ripe seeds can also be ground
into a meal if desired.
---Litter---Even
the stems and seedless heads need not be wasted where fowls are kept.
Many may prefer to use them as fire-kindlers, but they will, when thoroughly
dry, come in useful as litter for the laying-houses. When dry, they can
be passed through a chaffcutting machine and be added to the other litter
- peat-moss or dried leaves. They need to be made into a scratchable material
for hens, but for ducks, the material can be placed deeply in the house
as a bedding. Ducks need litter to 'squat' on rather than to scratch in.
---Silage---The
value of the Giant Sunflower as a silage crop is discussed in the March,
1918, number of The Journal of Heredity, by F. B. Linfield, the
Director of the Montana Agricultural Station. Trials were made of this
plant in the higher valleys, where Beans and Maize were not well adapted,
owing to the uncertainty of their yield. In three successive years, the
yield of the Sunflower varied from 22 to 30 tons of green fodder per acre,
being about two and a half times that of Maize, and more than twice as
great as that of Lucerne, for the season. It had, moreover, the advantage
of so shading the ground as to keep all weeds under. Feeding experiments
were made with it, both as a green crop and as silage. Cows were found
to eat it as readily as Maize fodder, and control experiments showed that
the milk flow was maintained as readily as with the latter crop; nor was
there evidence of any taint in the milk. A portion of the Sunflower fodder
was put into the silo and fed in the winter, both to cows and fattening
steers, with satisfactory results. It matures in the English climate better
than Maize, and, consequently, would not be so liable to become sour in
the silo and its relatively high oil content would probably render it
valuable.
---As
Fuel. As Source of Potash for Manure--- Sunflowers, when the stalks
are dry, are as hard as wood and make an excellent fire.
Those who undertake
to grow Sunflowers should, however, bear in mind that the ash obtained from
the plants after the seed has been harvested is, owing to its richness in
potash, a manure of considerable value, so that it is really wasteful to
use up the dry stems merely on the domestic fire; it is of more advantage
to make them up in heaps on the ground, burn them there and save the ash.
At the time of cutting,
strip off the leaves and feed them to rabbits or poultry. When the stems
are dry and after the seed crop has been gathered, choose a fine day to
burn both stems and empty seed-heads.
Of the ash obtained
from burning the Sunflower stems and heads (apart from seeds) 62 per cent
consists of potash, and as an acre of Sunflowers produces from 2,500 to
4,000 lb. of top, the total yield of potash is considerable. Allowing 3,000
lb. of top, there would be produced 160 lb. of ashes per acre of crop, which
should contain upwards of 50 lb. of potash.
The ash should either
be spread at once or stored under cover; if left exposed to rain, the potash
will be washed away and the ash rendered of little manurial value. It can
be used with advantage for the potato or other root crop in the following
year, being spread a little while before the crop is planted, at the rate
of from 1/2 to 1 OZ. to the square yard.
---As
Soil Improver---The growing herb is extremely useful for drying
damp soils, because of its remarkable ability to absorb quantities of
water. Swampy districts in Holland have been made habitable by an extensive
culture of the Sunflower, the malarial miasma being absorbed and nullified,
whilst abundant oxygen is emitted.
---Textile
Use---The Chinese grow this plant extensively, and it is believed
that a large portion of its fibre is mixed with their silks.
---A
Bee Plant---The Sunflower is a good bee plant, as it furnishes
hive bees with large quantities of wax and nectar.
---As
Vegetable---The unexpanded buds boiled and served like Artichokes
form a pleasant dish.
---Medicinal
Action and Uses---The seeds have diuretic and expectorant properties
and have been employed with success in the treatment of bronchial, laryngeal
and pulmonary affections, coughs and colds, also in whooping cough.
The following preparation
is recommended: Boil 2 OZ. of the seeds in 1 quart of water, down to 12
OZ. and then strain. Add 6 OZ. of good Holland gin and 6 OZ. of sugar. Give
in doses of 1 to 2 teaspoonsful, three or four times a day.
The oil possesses similar
properties and may be given in doses of 10 to 15 drops or more, two or three
times a day.
A tincture of the Howers
and leaves has been recommended in combination with balsamics in the treatment
of bronchiectasis.
The seeds, if browned
in the oven and then made into an infusion are admirable for the relief
of whooping cough.
Tincture of Helianthus
has been used in Russia. Kazatchkoft says that in the Caucasus the inhabitants
employ the Sunflower in malarial fever. The leaves are spread upon a bed
covered with a cloth, moistened with warm milk and then the patient is wrapped
up in it. Perspiration is produced and this process is repeated every day
until the fever has ceased.
A tincture prepared
from the seed with rectified spirit of wine is useful for intermittent fevers
and ague, instead of quinine. It has been employed thus in Turkey and Persia,
where quinine and arsenic have failed, being free from any of the inconveniences
which often arise from giving large quantities of the other drugs.
The leaves are utilized
in herb tobaccos.
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Green - Seeds Co., Ltd.
81/10B Ho Van Hue Street, Phu Nhuan District, Ward 9, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: +84 (8) 847 6901 - Fax: +84 (8) 844 1392 - Email: info@green-seeds.com
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