Surajmukhi / Sun Flower
Helianthus annuus
Also known as Common Sunflower
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka & more
- Flowering
- November-June
How to identify Surajmukhi
Identify Surajmukhi by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a undershrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Very large single flower head that tracks the sun (sunflower).
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Alternate.
- Confirm leaf margin: Toothed.
- Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: November-June.
- In India, compare location records such as Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and nearby regions.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Helianthus annuus
- Genus
- Helianthus
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Habitat
- Cultivated
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- Tropical America
- Distribution
- Cultivated in most parts of the world
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Delhi, Odisha, Telangana
- Flowering & fruiting
- November-June
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.“Sunflower leaves are broad, coarsely toothed, rough and mostly alternate;” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf margin
- ToothedrecordedA saw-like or jagged edge (serrate or dentate).“Sunflower leaves are broad, coarsely toothed, rough and mostly alternate;” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- HirsuterecordedCovered in coarse, stiff, bristly hairs.“Sunflower leaves are broad, coarsely toothed, rough and mostly alternate;” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Surajmukhi itself; the rest are typical of the Asteraceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Yellowrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Head
- Fruit
- Achene
Characters marked “recorded” are for Surajmukhi itself; the rest are typical of the Asteraceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Surajmukhi सूरजमुखी,सूरजमुखी surajamukhi
- Nepali
- सूर्यमुखी फूल Sooryamukhi Phool
- Tamil
- சூரியகாந்தி Suryakaanti
- Kannada
- ಸೂರ್ಯಕಾಂತಿ Suryakaanti, ಸೂರ್ಯಮುಖಿ Suryamukhi, ಅರ್ಕಪುಷ್ಪ Arkapushpa
- Malayalam
- Sooryakanthi, സൂര്യകാന്തി
- Marathi
- सूर्यफूल Sooryaphool, सूर्यफूल
- Telugu
- ప్రొద్దు తిరుగుడు
- Bengali
- সূর্যমুখী
About Surajmukhi
A member of the Asteraceae family, Sun Flower (Helianthus annuus) is a low shrub. In India it has been recorded in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka and 16 other states. It is cultivated. Flowering and fruiting run from November to June.
Uses
It is grown for parts that are eaten, long used in traditional medicine and planted as an ornamental. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
In culture
It is treated as sacred and appears in worship and turns up in ritual and festival use.
Asteraceae
Daisy/Sunflower family
Surajmukhi belongs to the Asteraceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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