Sunflowers

Sunflowers are a summer annual broadleaf crop that is usually known for its large showy flower head that rotates during the day, following the angle of the sun. There are two types of sunflower: one is confectionary and is edible, and the other is for oil.

The high oil content makes sunflower seed a potential renewable energy crop. The staff at the Biofuels Center of North Carolina and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture research station in Oxford are working jointly on testing sunflowers, evaluating their potential for growing oil for biodiesel.