March 23rd, 2007 | admin

Sooryakanthi (Helianthus Annuus), commonly known as sunflower got its name from two different facts that the flowers always face the sun and the shape of the flower resembles sun. Sooryan in Malayalam means sun and kanthi means beauty – suryakanthi is the beauty of sun.

Though it appears to be a single flower, sooryakanti is a head inflorescence with multiple flowers, each producing a seed. Sooryakanthi is an annual plant. In some cases, a plant produces only a single flower and then dies. In most cases it produces multiple flower heads.

The seeds of suryakanthi are diurectic and expectorant. The leaves of the plant is used in treating different skin diseases.

Helianthus annuus belongs to the family Asteraceae.