of the sunflower brought about The Academy of Science Review in 1779. There botanical and
commercial descriptions of Russia’s sunflower were established.
In 1835 a practical gardener in Ukraine cultivated the first commercial sunflower plantation. Within
fifteen to twenty years the waste areas of central Russia, Ukraine, south Russia, and many parts of Siberia
were covered. It is now hard to imagine a garden without a sunflower plant (Vishaya Schkolla, Moscow,
1963). For the past one hundred years the Russians have known the sunflower as a source of nourishment
as well as a decorative flower. Folk medicine: In Byelorussia the whole head (basket) of the sunflower
is used when the seeds begin to ripen. They cut this into small pieces, add soap chips, nastoika (vodka),
and place in the sun for nine days. The aged liniment is used externally for rheumatic pain. Decoctions
made from the flowers are taken internally as nastoika, 1 part flowers to 5 parts vodka, 30–40 drops
three times a day. Soft, pulpy stem parts are used as tea for fevers (Bogdanovich 1895). Clinically: Many
oil preparations of ointments, liniments, and medical compounds; decoction of the seeds for jaundice,
malaria, heart conditions, diarrhea, kidney and bladder (Bello-Russ. Academy of Science, Minsk, 1965);
oil as foodstuff is a part of daily life; decoction or tea from flowers and leaves for malaria (Atlas,
Moscow, 1963).
The sunflower serves as an illustration of how a native plant can travel around the world and gain
recognition as a new-found food. Nutrition takes many forms and sources, and the towering sunflower is
one of the almost perfectly balanced foods, yet to be experienced by the majority.
chris devlin
(Chris Devlin)
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