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Sunflower: Garden Giant - Page 2

© Audrey Stallsmith

Unfortunately most of the sunflower seeds in America still seem to get fed to our feathered friends, who know a good thing when they see it! In fact, I wish the birds would contain their enthusiasm, since they often peck out the centers of my sunflowers before the seeds even ripen.

James Duke writes that sunflower seeds contain two pain-relieving chemicals-SAM and phenylalanine. They also provide a mental lift, calm the nerves, and decrease allergic reactions--much as cigarettes do but without the nasty side-effects. So John Heinerman recommends them for smokers who want to quit. Persons who consume lots of sunflower seeds are less likely to develop prostrate, breast, and colon cancer. According to Duke, males may be more likely to father children since those seeds are high in arginine, an amino acid often prescribed for low sperm count.

Sunflower oil contains phytosterols that actually decrease cholesterol in humans rather than increasing it, like most cooking fats do. As sunflower's turpentine odor indicates, the oil also makes a good thinner for paint and a long-burning lamp oil.

A tincture of sunflower has been used in place of quinine to treat malarial fevers. Folklore even insists that planting sunflowers around your house will keep malaria out!

All parts of sunflower have some use. Its leaves can be chopped as fodder for livestock and don't sour as quickly as the better-know corn silage does. The pith inside the plant's stems is lighter than cork and makes a good stuffing for life vests. Fiber from the stems has also been employed in paper-making. Since those stems turn hard when dry, you can allow your kids to build "log houses" with them-or burn them in your fireplace. If the latter, be sure to save the potassium-rich ashes for your garden.

The sunflower has none of the temperamentalness ascribed to some garden beauties, and will grow almost anywhere there is space and light. As Lord Lytton wrote in The Duchess of Valliere, "The sunflower, gazing on the lord of heaven/ Asks but its sun to shine." In my opinion, therefore, this plant is better described as generous than proud. And mankind has yet to discover a fraction of what it has to offer!

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