Helianthus annum, a. Habit, b. Ray flower, c. Disk flower, d. Achenes, two views. Drawn by Regina O.Hughes. From Reed 1971.

For decades, we have believed that the sunflower (Helianthus annuus) was domesticated in North America. That view was largely the result of Charles Heiser’s research into the genus (cf. Heiser 1951, 1976). Now, a seed taken from an archaeological site in Central America has shaken that idea by predating all North American sites (Lentz et al. 2001). Heiser is resisting the new interpretation (cf. Heiser 2001, Lentz 2001a,b).