ABSTRACT
The sunflower is native to western North America, but weedy forms and escapes from cultivated plants have been found in every state of the United States, every province of Canada, and southern Mexico. Spaniards brought the sunflower to Europe in 1510, but it did not develop into a significant European crop until the late 1800s, when Russians selected varieties with very high oil content. In the 1940s, Americans brought back to North America Russian sunflower varieties with seed oil contents of nearly 50%-twice as high as existing American varieties. The main areas of sunflower production are Russia, Argentina, eastern and western Europe, China, and the United States. Most North American sunflower seed is produced in North and South Dakota and Minnesota. In addition to its culinary uses noted, sunflower oil is used for producing lubricants, soaps, paints, and varnishes. However, the seeds and the expressed oil are the principal sunflower foods.
