In April, I planted several sunflower starts in our backyard in hopes that by August we would have tall, beautifully blooming sunflowers that eventually would yield sunflower seeds. One of these sunflower plants started out as the smallest, and for a while, I was concerned that it might not make it. Eventually, the plant got stronger as it grew, 4 feet then 6 feet, 12 feet, wow – I was amazed at this point, then 14 feet where it stopped growing upward and began to produce a future sunflower bloom (botanically called an infloresence, which is a cluster of individual flowers). We waited excitedly, checked on the plant regularly, and then one morning, the petals began to retract to show a stunning bright yellow sunflower.
Here is the opening:
It took several days for the sunflower to fully open and then the seeds within the bloom began to grow larger, and in the process, increased the size of the bloom.
Here is the full opening:
Here is a close up of the seeds:
Each little seed has a flower at the tip that must be individually pollinated for the seed to fully mature. Later this season, we will harvest the seeds and save some for next year, or maybe grow some sunflower sprouts. Once in a while, we enjoy having shelled sunflower seeds in recipes or just by themselves.
Here is a short nutrient analysis of sunflower seeds:
| Nutrient | Shelled sunflower seeds - ¼ cup, 35 g | Adult Daily Values |
| Calories | 204.4 | |
| Protein | 7.27 g | |
| Thiamin (Vitamin B1) | 0.52 | 1.1 – 1.2 mg |
| Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) | 0.12 | 1.1 – 1.3 mg |
| Niacin (Vitamin B3) | 2.92 | 14 – 16 mg |
| Calcium | 27.3 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.84 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Magnesium | 113.8 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 225.8 | 4700 mg |
| Zinc | 1.75 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Selenium | 18.55 | 55 mcg |
I am always looking for plant-based sources of selenium, and was pleased to find that sunflower seeds are a notable source. The richest plant source of selenium that I have found so far is Brazil nuts. Here is an article that I wrote that shows the selenium content of Brazil nuts.
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