Sunflowers are one of North America’s greatest plant exports. Native Americans have always harvested native sunflowers for food, oil, and dye. But the sunflower had small seeds and flowers. When the Russians got a hold of the small sunflower, they would never be the same. Many cooking oils were restricted by the Russian church, but sunflower oil was not. in the early 1900s notable plant breeder, Vasily Pustovoit, doubled the sunflower’s oil content and greatly increased flower size. Those giant sunflowers later returned to U.S. farms as major farm and garden crops.
Growing Home - Sunflowers
