STATEN ISLAND, NY - EAST SHORE - The sunny skies and dry heat of late summer give sunflowers the boost they need to stand tall and send their flashy yellow bloom along streetscapes all over the East Shore.

The Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a member of the Aster family. It is native to North America, where ancient tribes found diverse uses for the protein-rich seeds as well as the petals: Flour, oil, livestock fodder, and dye for baskets and textiles.

"During the 19th century, many believed that growing a Common Sunflower near a house would protect the occupants from malaria," wrote Joan Barker in "The Encyclopedia of North American Wildflowers" (Parragon Publishing, 2004).

Organic sunflower seeds are inexpensive and widely available at garden centers. Some varieties yield plants that reach an imposing height of 10 feet, with huge flower heads up to 14-inches across.

At planting time next spring, look for "Russian Mammoth," an heirloom sunflower prized for its heat and drought resistance. After seeds are sown directly into the soil in a full-sun, well-drained location, expect huge blooms in about 80 days.

"Fast and easy to grow, Mammoth sunflowers are great for creating a Sun Forest for kids, a tall annual hedge, or a screen," the Burpee seed company suggests.

Sunflower seeds attract birds and provide nourishing food, so as your plants die back in the fall, leave them undisturbed and you'll do nature a favor.

ROSEBANK BEAUTIES

In Rosebank, Jamir Matias has not planted sunflower seeds in 15 years because the tall plants in his front garden on St. Mary's Avenue have consistently self-sowed. September is the "big month" for the bright-yellow blooms, he told us last week. Matias allows his 6-foot-tall plants to die back naturally as autumn approaches; new seedlings emerge in March, without any gardening effort on his part.

Sunflowers thrive in the northern part of his native Philippines, where the plants are used ornamentally, and to manufacture oil extracted from the seeds.

FREE PRIZE FOR KIDS

If your kids are already fascinated with sunflowers, or to introduce them to the big beauties, there's a free, eight-page educational coloring book for kindergarten to fourth-graders, available on the Web site of the National Sunflower Association at

www.sunflowewrnsa.com/all-about/default.asp?contentID=61

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Native American Heritage

Sunflower was a common crop among American Indian tribes throughout North America. Evidence suggests that the plant was cultivated by Indians in present-day Arizona and New Mexico about 3000 B.C. Some archaeologists suggest that sunflower may have been domesticated before corn.

Sunflower was used in many ways. Seed was ground or pounded into flour for cakes, mush or bread. Some tribes mixed the meal with other vegetables such as beans, squash and corn. The seed was also cracked and eaten for a snack. There are references of squeezing the oil from the seed and using the oil in making bread.

Non-food uses included purple dye for textiles, body painting, and other decorations. Parts of the plant were used medicinally, ranging from snakebite to body ointments. The oil of the seed was used on the skin and hair. The dried stalk was used as a building material. The plant and the seeds were widely used in ceremonies.

SOURCE

: National Sunflower Association, Mandan, North Dakota