Sunflower Seed or sunflower Kernels:what is Marigold of Peru.Corona Solis.Sola Indianus.Chrysanthemum Peruvianum?
Contents
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- Basic Botanical Info:Sunflower.
- Sunflower Botanical Description.
- PhytoChemicals and Constituents of Sunflower seed.
- Sunflower seed Common Possible Uses and Applications.
- Sunflower Historical Perspective.
- Ways to Enjoy Sunflower Kernels?.
- Consumers Worldwide Love Eating In-Shell Seeds.
- Sunflower Oil - Your Healthy Choice and its infomation.
- Nutrition Content and Analysis of Sunflower Seed.
- Flower formation of Helianthus annuus.
- Research Update:Helianthus annuus,Sunflower Kernel.
Sunflower Botanical Description.:
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.
Taxonomy:
The cultivated sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is one of the 67 species in the genus Helianthus. All are native to the Americas and most are found in the USA. It is a member of the Compositae family and has a typical composite flower. Jerusalem artichoke (H. tuberosus L.), another species, is grown on a limited basis for food and livestock feed in the USA. A few species are grown as ornamentals and the rest are weeds, usually found in pastures or disturbed areas.
The basic chromosome number for the Helianthus genus is 17. Diploid, tetraploid and hexaploid species are known. The majority of the species are perennial with only about a dozen annual species. Plant breeders have made interspecific crosses within the genus and have transferred such useful characters as higher oil percentage, cytoplasmic male sterility for use in production of hybrids, and disease and insect resistance to commercial sunflower.
Seeds, kernel, what is the difference?
The answer, there isn't a difference. Here is how the NSA refers to sunflower seeds/kernel:
In-shell means the seed is left intact with the "meat" of the seed still in the shell. It is normally roasted and seasoned. It is eaten as a snack by cracking the shell with one's teeth, discarding the hull and eating the delicious morsel within. 'Chew and spit' is a great American pastime, especially at baseball games and other outdoor events.
Kernel means the processor has mechanically removed the hull. The resulting kernel is now in a convenient form to be sold raw or roasted for snacking or as an ingredient.
Confection/Non-oil Sunflower Characteristics
Confection sunflower seeds are normally black with white stripes and approximately five eighths of an inch long. The heavy hull accounts for approximately half the weight of the seed and is loosely fixed to the kernel inside. Seed size is primarily affected by plant genetics, but also to planting density and weather.
Sunflower seeds are graded according to size and separated into groups. The largest size will go into the in-shell market. The medium-sized seeds are usually hulled for the kernel market. The smallest size will go into the bird and pet feeding market.
Seeds: An Ideal Snack and Ingredient
High protein, low carbohydrate diets are here to stay; thus it is even more important than ever to make sure they are full of naturally healthy foods such as sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds are the best whole-food source of Vitamin E. They provide an ideal heart-healthy profile, are high in protein, and naturally low in carbohydrate. Learn more about the benefits of sunflower seeds by downloading the fact sheets below.
Sunflower seed:
The sunflower seed is the seed of the sunflower (Helianthus annuus).
These seeds have been cultivated for several thousand years, originally in Mexico and Peru. They have been used by Native Americans for more than 5,000 years. They were brought to Europe by the Spanish conquerors.
Sunflower seeds are both eaten whole and pressed to produce sunflower oil. Sunflower seeds are tasty and rich in fibers and polyunsaturated fatty acids (about 66 % linoleic acid) and low in saturated acids, such as palmitic acid and stearic acid. They are processed into polyunsaturated margarines. Nowadays, sunflower oil is one of the most popular oils in the world.
Sunflower seeds in achenes with striped pericarps (= fruit wall) are used primarily for food. Seeds from achenes with solid black pericarps are pressed into sunflower oil.
Sunflower seeds are more often eaten as a healthy snack than as part of a meal. They are particularly popular in Mediterranean countries. When eaten whole, the seeds are first dried. They may be roasted and for better preservation they are often covered with salt or flour.
Sunflower seeds are sometimes added to bread and other baked goods, for their flavor.
Apart from human consumption, sunflower seeds are also sold as food for pet and wild birds. The pressed sunflower seed cake constitutes a valuable livestock feed, rich in proteins.
Furthermore, sunflower oil could become in the future a renewable, eco-friendly energy source, as an important bio-source for hydrogen. A team for the University of Leeds has developed a workable method for the extraction of hydrogen from sunflower oil, through a chain of chemical reactions with nickel and carbon-based catalysts.
Cultivation and Uses:
To grow well, sunflowers need full sun. They grow best in fertile, moist, well-drained soil with a lot of mulch. Seeds should be 45 cm (1.5') apart and planted 2.5 cm (1") deep.
Sunflower "whole seeds" (fruit) are sold as snacks, especially in the United States and Europe, and as food for birds. Sunflower oil, extracted from the seeds, is used for cooking (but is less cardiohealthy than olive oil), as a carrier oil and is used to produce biodiesel, for which it is less expensive than the olive product. The cake remaining after the seeds have been processed for oil is used as a livestock feed. Some recently developed cultivars have drooping heads. These cultivars are less attractive to gardeners growing the flowers as ornamental plants, but appeal to farmers, because they reduce bird damage and losses from some plant diseases. There are also new breeds of sunflowers which are transgenic, so that they are resistant to some diseases.
The sunflower is the state flower of the U.S. state of Kansas, and one of the city flowers of Kitakyushu.
The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosa) is related to the sunflower. The Mexican sunflower is Tithonia rotundifolia. False sunflower refers to plants of the genus Heliopsis.
Scientific literature reports, from 1567, that a 12 m (40'), traditional, single-head, sunflower plant was grown in Padua. The same seed lot grew almost 8 m (24') at other times and places (e.g. Madrid). Much more recent feats (past score years) of over 8 m (25') have been achieved in both Netherlands and Canada (Ontario).
Reference:
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- 1.Sunflower Seed or sunflower Kernels:what is Marigold of Peru.Corona Solis.Sola Indianus.Chrysanthemum Peruvianum?
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