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October 7, 2004
Sizzling sunflowers
Natives of North America, sunflowers are now found worldwide. Zahrah Nasir writes about the many uses of the sunflower plant and seeds
There are some flowering plants that I just cannot resist and sunflowers, both a medicinal herb and a food, are high on my list of favourites.
Native to North and Central America, Peru and Chile, the sunflower, botanical name Helianthus annus, has been in use for over 3,000 years.
Aztec sun princesses wore crowns of these magnificent blossoms and the sunflower motif was used by these tribes in jewellery, pottery making and to ornament buildings. The flower was also dedicated to Helios, the Greek sun god in ancient times.
Introduced into Europe by the Spanish explorers in the early 1500s, sunflowers progressed to the status of an oil seed crop in both Russia and Germany by the 1700s.
The Chinese, too, have grown sunflowers for thousands of years; one presumes that the seeds made their way to China, across the Pacific Ocean at some point in history. Apart from being used in Chinese acupuncture and herbal remedies, they also utilized the strong stem fibres in both rope making, and, believe it or not, in the weaving of fine silks.
Lately, sunflowers are being widely grown in Holland to assist in the reclamation of waterlogged land as, while they do tolerate quite a degree of drought, they are extremely thirsty plants.
As a herb, sunflower oil is used to reduce cholesterol levels and an extraction from the whole plant, stems and leaves included, is used in the treatment of bronchial infections, tuberculosis and malaria, the latter apparently practised by the traditional healers in, of all places, Siberia which amptly demonstrates how hardy and how widespread sunflowers are.
A generous handful of sunflower seeds, of which there are up to an astonishing 1,000 in each flower head and all naturally arranged in an intricate spiral design, can be boiled in water for 20 minutes and then drunk as tea to relieve coughs, dysentery and kidney problems.
Pressed sunflower seeds contain a high concentrate of Vitamin F which is used as an ingredient for numerous skin creams and also in ointments for rheumatic problems and general aches and pains.
As a food, the fresh or dried seeds are rich in Vitamins B1 and B2, niacin, iron, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, fats and proteins.
Raw seeds, available in many markets such as Empress Market in Karachi and Abpara in Islamabad, can be peeled and eaten as they are but, in my opinion, roasting them in a little soya sauce turns them into a really tasty treat.
Seeds can also be sprouted for use in salads or as a sandwich ingredient, but don’t let the sprouts grow more than about a quarter of an inch long as the taste then gets rather bitter.
Young flower buds, just as they begin to get nice and plump and, I frankly admit that I just cannot bring myself to do this, can be used raw in salads or steamed and served rather like globe artichokes but, while this may, in some parts of the world, be considered a delicacy, I prefer to wait for the spectacular display of flowers and, if the birds don’t get them first, the tasty seeds.
Come to think of it, I don’t really enjoy the taste of globe artichokes either, but leave them to flower also and, as with sunflowers, for the bees and other beneficial insects, such as hoverflies which then go on to help keep the garden free of destructive aphids.
Again, if you can bear to pull the petals off the dazzling yellow flowers, these can be added to salads, used as a general garnish, added to rice instead of expensive saffron or if you strip a large quantity of flowers you can even make a brilliant yellow dye for natural fibres or woollen fabrics.
For smokers, sunflower leaves can be dried and then used as a herbal tobacco which is also, though I don’t promise, reputed to relieve coughs and chest congestion. The tough, fibrous stems, as previously mentioned, can be used in rope making, silk weaving and also in the making of paper or, if fully dried out, burnt as a fuel with the resultant ash then used in the garden as a high potash fertilizer.
It seems there is no end to the use of this fantastic range of flowering plants as even the residue from oil extraction is added to animal and poultry feeds and the ‘green residue’, from other processes, can always be fed to the goat — if you have one!
Sunflowers come in all shapes and sizes, from dwarfs of a mere six to eight inches tall, up to giants of 12 feet and more. The colour range is also extremely wide with new colours being bred almost every season. There are white sunflowers from Italy and all the colours from ruby red to lemon and the old favourite dazzling yellow. There are even pollen free varieties, the ‘Prado series’ for those who suffer from allergies but I always wonder about the bees in this respect. The poor scout bee, spotting an array of a favourite honey yielding food must get very confused to find that the flower is bare.
Sunflowers are so easy to grow that it is almost unbelievable. They thrive in most soils, as long as they get water now and then to keep them happy. If your house is plagued by rising damp or a soggy patch in the garden, then sunflowers should help to dry it up. Seeds, unlike those for many other varieties of flowering plants, are easy to find.
The plain, edible seeds that you purchase for eating, not processed or salted ones, will give you a splendid show of yellow sunflowers and the seeds for other colours can now be found in garden supply stores. I found seeds imported from Germany in Karachi’s Empress Market a good ten years ago. The garden supply stores have now spread to other parts of the country.
Finally, in Karachi, you can plant your seeds anytime from September to the end of April; the same applies to Hyderabad. In Lahore and Islamabad they can be planted from February to the end of March for the best results. In Quetta from the end of March to the end of April. In Peshawar from the end of January to the end of March and from the end of March to the end of May in the mountainous regions of the country.
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