Sunflower Meaning, Symbolization, Varieties, and Popular Quotes!!

Radiant, bright, joyful, lush, and full of happiness – sunflowers are one of the world’s most vibrant and gorgeous flowers. Sunflowers and the lazy summertime bring joy and peace to our minds. That is why; many people prefer to keep the tall sunflowers at their homes for decoration purposes. A vase with sunflowers looks supremely aesthetic when kept on the dining table center or in the kitchen. People prefer to buy roses for birthday, anniversaries, or other special occasions. But, the charm of sunflower is no less. Giving someone a bunch of sunflowers is always the best choice to make for the dreamy first impression.<.p>

From big to small, from red petals to yellow petals, sunflowers around is the way to enjoy lazy sunny days. Sunflowers symbolize happiness, cheerfulness, joy, and new hope, making them one of the best flowers to give to loved ones on special days. Many people prefer to give a bunch of sunflowers with cake on birthday or anniversary to wish their near and dear ones all the happiness in the world. Helianthus Annuus is the botanical name of this annual flower, according to which the meaning of sunflower is “Sun Flower,” i.e., Helios means sun and Anthos means flower. And, Annuus means annual, giving the perfect definition of the Sunflower plant – “The Annual Sun Flower.”

If you adore the gorgeous sunflowers, you must be curious to know about the sunflower history, meaning of the sunflower, uses, and symbolization of the sunflower. We have curated this sunflower guide to help you discover the true meaning of this bright and beautiful flower. Here is what we will cover in this sunflower meaning, uses, and symbolization guide:

About Sunflower Origin & History

The sunflower gets its name due to its tendency to reposition itself according to the sun’s position. Just like other flowers, sunflowers are in our history. They are not some fancy-looking hybrid flowers, and hence, during the ancient Greek myth, Apollo and Clytie have given us the first and the only explanation why sunflowers move towards the sun. It is basically a story that interprets the origin of the sunflower and what is its history.

The story of Apollo and Clytie begins like –

In this story, a nymph named Clytie used to adore Apollo a lot. In the beginning, Apollo too loved her so much, but after some time, he fell in love with another female named Leucothoe. Seeing this, Clytie gets jealous, and because of jealousy, she told Leucothoe’s father about the relationship between Apollo and Leucothoe. He punished his daughter by burying her alive.

In anger, Apollo turned Clytie into a flower. But, even after she has turned into a flower, her love has never decreased for him. She used to see Apollo and follow him moving his chariot from dusk to dawn. Being a flower, she would spend her days watching Apollo moving just like the sun moves across the sky.

The flower is now known as sunflowers, and it is a myth or reality; god knows on that part.

As far as the origin of sunflowers is considered, they first originated in America around 1000 BC. They were mainly found in Arizona and New Mexico, known for their myriad of practical uses and applications. The early Americans use sunflowers as the first cultivated food source.

But, using as a food source is not what sunflowers are meant for. When the Americans learn how to extract oil, they started using sunflower seeds and petals for oil and use it on their skin and hair.

After some time, when sunflowers become popular, they started growing super popular in Europe, Ukraine, and Russia in the early 1700s. And now, sunflowers are one of the most popular flowers to gift on any occasion and festivity. People choose to give sunflowers for anniversary and birthdays as a token of their feelings and emotions.

What is the Meaning & Symbolization of Sunflower?

• The meaning, significance, and symbolization of sunflowers vary from culture to country to people. In some parts of the world, the meaning of sunflower is positivity, strength, admiration, and loyalty.
• In Chinese culture, sunflowers symbolize good luck, long-lasting happiness, hope, and the beginning of a new chapter in life.
• The scientific name for the sunflower is Helianthus, which means “Sun Flower.”
• Having sunflowers around in the house help in reducing stress and anxiety and combat the issues of depression.
• Sunflowers symbolize love, loyalty, passion, adoration, affection, and compassion.
• Sunflowers are associated with the sun, and hence, they are known as happy flowers.
• Many people believe that sunflowers symbolize long life, good luck, positivity, and vitality.
• Sunflowers are also known as the symbol of long-lasting happiness and optimism.
• Sunflowers with red petals attract happiness, cheerfulness, and all positive emotions.

Sunflower Uses across the Globe

From being one of the prettiest flowers to put in a vase to growing in the yard, sunflowers are one of its kinds. Giving humans such a beautiful and blissful sight to behold, sunflowers are known to have many famous and practical uses. The next thing to learn is even more exciting as we will be seeing how and in how many ways sunflower can be used to us.

Let us have a look:

• Sunflowers are used in both ways, i.e., for providing oil and food to humans.
• The sunflower seeds are favorite for small birds like songbirds and sparrows. On the other hand, many animals like eating the sunflower plant.
• Even we as humans love to have sunflower seeds as snacks. These seeds are loaded with Vitamin A, B, D, and E. These seeds can be taken raw, roasted, or cooked as they are also one of the most significant sources of iron, protein, and calcium.
• The oil extracted from the sunflowers is very popular because of the low level of saturation fat in it.
• The sunflower oil is also used in the preparation of soaps, wax, candles, etc. This is because of the medicinal properties, lightweight, light color, and light texture of the oil.
• Sunflowers are also used in cleaning the Chernobyl disaster. This is due to their capability of removing radiation from soil and water.
• Earlier were the days when sunflowers are very popular and used in the manufacturing of certain herbal medicines. But, with the change in time and advancement in technologies, this tradition is no more followed.
• The tea prepared from the sunflower petals is diuretic in nature and can be used to treat high fevers.
• In the case of snake bites or spider bites, crushed sunflower leaves are used for the treatment.
• The oil available in the leaves is also beneficial in curing the sores and swellings on the different parts of the body.
• Several minor and major pulmonary complaints have been resolved with the use of sunflower seeds.
• The sunflower roots are used for treating rheumatic pains and aches.

What Different Colors of Sunflower Mean?

If you have imagined sunflower with yellow petals, you are probably wrong, my friend. Sunflowers are available in many bright and vibrant colors. It will be very much exciting to learn the meaning of the different colors of the sunflowers. So, let us have a look:

Various Sunflower Colors	Meaning of Each Color
Yellow Sunflowers	Yellow-colored sunflowers look super dazzling and classic for everyone who adores bright sunflowers. The yellow color of the sunflowers symbolizes truth, goodness, honesty, and compassion.
Red Sunflowers	The sunflowers having bright red colors petals with black surroundings are unusual but very pretty. The red-colored sunflowers represent positivity and strength.
Orange Sunflowers	Sunflowers having bright orange-colored petals are eye-catching and crowd-pleasing because of their ultra-vibrant nature. These orange sunflowers can attract bees and symbolizes positive energy, cheerfulness, good fortune, and happiness.
White Sunflowers	White sunflowers are the rarest variety of the sunflowers, very daunting to get easily either for the garden or for gifting to someone. The white-colored sunflowers are not pure white but a little on the pale yellow side. Having while sunflowers around symbolize purity, new hopes, re-birth, and peace. You can send white sunflowers online to dear ones starting a new chapter of life.
Pink Sunflowers	Pink sunflower is not only sight-pleasing and gorgeous, but this flower variety can make anyone fall in love with its unique color. The pink-colored sunflowers represent good health, innocence, glory, royalty, health, and have an impressive impression of people.

Sunflower as “Wedding Flower”

Sunflowers have always been one of the most popular and widely used flowers for wedding ceremonies. The tradition is not new but ages old as the vibrant sunflowers represent loyalty, love, strength, compassion, dedication, adoration, and faith. All these parameters are the pillars of successful marriage life. Owing to this, sunflowers are included in the bride’s bouquet. Blessed with the alluring and striking appearance, sunflowers add the wow factor on the wedding day.

During ancient times, lovely brides used to carry a bouquet made of colorful sunflowers as they symbolize long life, a new beginning, good luck, fortune, warmth, fertility, hope, and faith. The pleasing scent of sunflowers wards off the evil powers and the negative energies and brings only happiness. But, now the customs have been changed, and no one wishes to follow the age-old traditions. But, then too, people in many countries give sunflowers as the 4th marriage anniversary flower to their favorite couple of spouses.

Varieties and Types of Sunflower

Sunflowers are considered one of the easily grown plants as many sunflower varieties can tolerate heat and drought, and some can grow throughout the year. More than 80 sunflower species are blooming across the globe, varying in color, height, and shape. All the flower varieties can be classified into the following two categories named tall sunflowers and small sunflowers.

Tall sunflowers

The sunflowers falling in the taller category can grow up to a height of 4.8m, i.e., 16ft. If we take into consideration daily life, these sunflowers can reach the height of the upstairs home window. These flowers can also head up to 3ft in width. Some of the common and popular tall sunflowers are:

• American Giant; can grow up to a height of 15ft.
• Skyscraper; can grow up to a height of 12ft.
• Mammoth Russian; can grow up to a height of 9ft to 12ft
• Sunforest; can grow up to a height of 12ft to 15ft

Short Sunflowers

Short sunflowers or dwarf sunflowers can the result of flower hybridization. The most common height for the short sunflowers ranges between 3 feet or less, generally. People prefer to send sunflower bouquets online to their loved ones as the short flowers make one of the best bouquet flowers. Some of the popular small sunflowers are:

• Pacino; can grow up to a height of 2ft
• Taiyo; can grow up to a height of 5ft to 7ft
• Suntastic Yellow; can grow up to a height of 20 inches
• Sunny Smile; can grow up to a height of 12 inches to 15 inches
• Sundance Kid; can grow up to a height of 1ft to 2ft
• Little Becka; can grow up to a height of 1ft to 2ft

Some Unusual Sunflower Varieties

• Italian White sunflowers look supremely enchanting with their chocolaty brown center and pale yellow petals arranged in a staggered manner.
• Teddy Bear sunflowers are one of the most unusual and rare sunflower varieties because of the shape of the flower. Such flowers look like puffy blooming bright yellow teddy bears.
• Little Becka is a gorgeous lovely bi-colored sunflower variety having the most stunning set of rusty red petals.
• Terracotta sunflowers are on this list because of their brown-colored gorgeous petals.
• Mars sunflowers are the center of attraction because of their red-to-purple-colored petals. These stunning petals transform into subtle yellow color from the tips as the plant grows.
• Chianti sunflowers fall in the category of outstanding sunflower variant as it is one of the darkest sunflowers with deep red wine-colored petals that looks out of the world.
• Moulin Rouge sunflowers are the exotic flower variant having an extravagant look because of the burgundy red petals.
• Earthwalker sunflower is a multicolored sunflower variety with flower heads in different hues like red, brown, and purple.

Meaning of Seeing Sunflowers in Dreams

Different Dreams about Sunflowers	Sunflower Dream Meaning & Interpretation
Dreaming a single sunflower	If you had a dream of a single sunflower in any of the familiar places, it is surely a sign of having good people in your life. The dream represents warmth, prosperity, and abundance in your life. And, if you had seen a sunflower at some unfamiliar place, it means that you will soon be traveling to a new location.
Dream of planting a sunflowers	A dream of planting sunflowers states that you are seeking some guidance. You need someone’s guidance or advice in nurturing your future life.
Dream of praising a single sunflower	If you had a dream in which you are admiring a single sunflower, it is a sort of warning that someone close to you is deceiving you with the fake promises or appearance. It is also a warning that you are going on the wrong path.
Dream of praising many sunflowers	Enjoying the beauty of sunflowers in the yard in your dreams is one of the best dreams with the loveliest meaning. It means that the person you have in your heart will accept your love and you as a person you are. Basically, the dreams symbolizes the acceptance.
Dreaming sunflower seeds	Seeing sunflower seeds in your dream is the representation of a new chapter in your life. It also represents a blank canvas or a fresh start.
Pregnant lady dreaming sunflowers and sunflower seeds	Dreaming sunflowers or its seeds is very common for the mothers-to-be. This is because, dreaming sunflowers symbolize circle of life, and having a dream about for sunflower seeds represents new start.
Dreaming a wild sunflower	Whenever you came across a wild sunflower in your dreams, it represents luck and fortune. The wild sunflowers are wish fulfillers and hence, it is said that “When you see a wild sunflower, make a wish.”

Some Fascinating and Interesting Facts about Sunflower

Sunflowers are one of the most popular flowers blooming in the summer season. Despite being one of the crowd-pleasing flowers, several interesting things are there that people do not know about this bright and vibrant flower. Here, we have curated this list of some unknown and interesting facts about sunflowers.

Let us have a look at the list:

• Do you have any idea that Daisies and Sunflowers belong to the same family, i.e., “Asteraceae?”
• Ukraine and Russia have the sunflower as their national flower.
• Sunflowers represent the sun, and hence, Incas worship this gorgeous flower.
• You must have seen many people including sunflower seeds in their diet. This is because of the presence of calcium in the sunflower seeds that makes them an excellent healthy source.
• Karst in Germany holds the record of growing the tallest sunflower of 9.17m, ie., 30ft 1inch. The record was of 2014, and till now, the same city holds the same record.
• The sunflower seeds also follow the Fibonacci sequence, just like other spiral shoed objects.
• Sunflower seeds are generally gray-stripped and of black color. The black-colored sunflower seeds are used for oil making, while the striped ones are used as a healthy snack.
• Sunflower plants are one of the fastest-growing plants.
• Sunflowers can soak hazardous materials like lead, arsenic, and uranium.
• You will be amazed to know that some people have a fear of sunflowers. This is called Helianthophobia. When the defective person got sight of sunflower, they can invoke some common phobia symptoms.
• Sunflower oil is one of the rich sources of Vitamin C & D, calcium, and iron.
• If you adore sunflowers and wish to grow them in your garden or farm, they need 7 to 8 hours of direct sunlight daily.
• The French name for sunflower is Tournesol, while the Spanish word for sunflower is El Girasolis.
• Are you also a fan of peanut butter? Do you wish to try something different as an alternative? If yes, then you can definitely try “Sunbutter” prepared with sunflower seeds and oil.
• On May 14th of 2015, 748 members from the Cologne Carnival Society dressed up in sunflower attire.
• Vincent Van Gogh loves sunflowers, and owing to this; he has created a whole painting series called “Sunflower.”
• The upper sunflower’s petals are arranged in the form of a heart, while the lower leaves are arranged in a staggered form.
• Just like Incas, Aztecs also worship sunflowers as they believe this bright flower is the incarnation of the sun god.
• The sunflower leaves are known to have certain significant medicinal properties. Sunflowers can be used to treat kidney issues and minor chest pain.
• Kansas has sunflowers to represent the state.
• The smallest sunflower variant was of 2inches.
• It is debatable whether the sunflower falls in the category of weed, wildflower, or plant.
• There are more than 70 gorgeous and unique varieties of sunflowers.

Popular Sunflower Quotes and Sayings

Every human soul has to suffer from cloudy days. In such hard times, finding a source of happiness and cheerfulness is very important and needful. For a bright, happy day, a sunflower around you will perk you up with new hopes and positivity. We have curated this list of some popular sunflower quotes perfect for jazzing up your day and make you understood you could do everything well in life.

Let us head towards the list:

1. “True friends are like bright sunflowers that never fade away, even over distance and time.” ~ Marie Williams Johnstone
2. “I want to be like a sunflower so that even on the darkest days, I will stand tall and find the sunlight.” ~ Unknown
3. “In a world full of roses, be a sunflower.” ~ Unknown
4. “Like a single sunbeam on a warm summer day, there is an exuberance and brilliance in a sunflower.” ~ Unknown Author
5. “Son flowers are the joy of my life.” ~ Unknown Author
6. “The road to freedom is bordered with sunflowers.” ~ Martin Firrell
7. “The sunflower is a favorite emblem of constancy.” ~ Thomas Bulfinch
8. “Keep your face to the sunshine, and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.” ~ Helen Keller
9. “Does she realize she looks like a sunflower, ready to rain sunlight on all who look down upon her?” ~ Simone Elkeles
10. “True friends are like bright sunflowers that never fade away, even over distance and time.” ~ Marie Williams Johnstone
11. “She’s a sunflower, strong and bold and true to herself. Not as lovely as a rose but also not as fragile.” ~ Unknown
12. “Sunflowers are like good friends; they bring happiness and joy to your life.” ~ Unknown
13. “Rise, shine and hold your head up high. Keep on growing. Even on the darkest days, stand tall and find the sunlight.” ~ Unknown
14. “Every friend is to the other a sun, and a sunflower also. He attracts and follows.” ~ Jean Paul Richter
15. “A rose can never be a sunflower, and a sunflower can never be a rose. All flowers are beautiful in their own way, and that’s like women too.” ~ Miranda Kerr
16. “She is just like a sunflower; strong, bright, and true.” ~ Marie Williams Johnstone
17. “Sunflowers bring daily sunshine into your world.” ~ Unknown
18. “Friends are like sunflowers … they light up each and every day.” ~ Unknown
19. “Sow seeds of friendship day by day to enjoy a lifetime of happy sunflowers.” ~ Unknown
20. “A true friend will overlook the weeds in your garden and praise your sunflowers instead.” ~ Unknown