Sunflower
(Helianthus annuus)
Its large flowers with beautiful bright yellow corollas move direction according to the course of the sun. Surrounded by velvety black bracts, they hide small black and shiny seeds.
It is in these small seeds, eaten both raw and roasted, that we find the kernels from which sunflower oil is extracted.
It would seem that the name given to the plant domesticated by Native Americans and Mexicans can originally also be explained by the betrayal of the Greek god Helios by the nymph Clytia. Madly in love with him, she lets herself die of grief when he does not respond to her feelings. Stunningly beautiful, the nymph then turns into a sunflower and keeps turning her head to follow the path of the sun god.
