What Have They Done to this Plant?

 

The common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a native plant that might be found in Georgia but is primarily native to the Midwest. Presence in Georgia is likely because of human assistance. It is an annual plant, growing each year from seed; there are numerous perennial species of Helianthus, and over a dozen of them are native to Georgia (and you can find my earlier post on Helianthus here).

Common sunflower is the only plant species native to North America to become a worldwide crop of economic importance. All parts of the wild plant were used by indigenous people for food, medicinal, and ceremonial purposes. Source 

As a result of such extensive usage, it's not surprising that people have bred it for both higher yields (bigger heads for more seeds), usage for sunflower oil, and ornamental purposes (different color flowers). The form of the plant is naturally a multi-flower plant with smaller flowers and leaves than you might expect. You can see some good photos of it on this site, but this photo below is fairly representative of the form.

Common sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

One of the most significant cultivation efforts took place in Eastern Europe where breeding programs in what is now Ukraine and Russia developed the single large flower on a single giant stem. This is often sold as the cultivar called 'Mammoth' and fields of it provide for great photo ops (as well as large amounts of seeds).

A field in North Georgia planted for tourists

I came across a vegetable plot recently where a variety of different cultivars had been planted amongst the tomatoes, corn, and peppers. Three of the below photos are from that plot. The fourth photo is a dwarf form that I found being sold at the grocery store.

'Mammoth' cultivar is very tall

A dwarf form sold in pots

Fewer disk flower cultivar

Cultivar with autumn colors

On all the cultivars, the foliage is still beneficial to insects that might use it (such as the 73+ species of moths and butterflies that lay eggs on it) and most of them still have lots of disk flowers to support bees and feed the birds. It's a fun and well known native plant to add to your garden whether you grow vegetables or not, but you do need lots of sun for it.