Summer sun makes the sunflowers (Helianthus) soar! | U.S. Botanic Garden

Video clip of a Song Sparrow announcing its presence in the Sunflower patch. Taken at Bragg Farms earlier this year. | Scott Martin Photography

Helianthus - Sunflower is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers.Except for three South American species, the species of Helianthus are native to North America and Central America. The best-known species is the common sunflower (Helianthus annuus), whose round flower heads in combination with the ligules look like the Sun. This and other species, notably Jerusalem artichoke (H. tuberosus), are culti