Close up shot of a single Indian sunflower against a blue sky background

---

Sunflower oil, extracted from the seeds, is used for cooking, as a carrier oil and to produce margarine and biodiesel, as it is cheaper than olive oil. A range of sunflower varieties exist with differing fatty acid compositions; some 'high oleic' types contain a higher level of healthy monounsaturated fats in their oil than even olive oil. The sunflower is the state flower of the US state of Kansas, and one of the city flowers of Kitakyushu, Japan. It is also one of the national emblems of Russia. The sunflower is often used as a symbol of green ideology, much as the red rose is a symbol of socialism or social democracy. The sunflower is also the symbol of the Vegan Society. Subject of Van Gogh's most famous still life, Sunflowers (series of paintings).

---

Size: 5201px × 3466px
Location: India
Photo credit: © Brian Perry / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: achene, alternative, angiosperms, angle, asteraceae, asterales, asterids, beautiful, beauty, biodiesel, bird, butter, circular, city, crop, emblems, eudicots, feed, flower, flowers, food, fruit, gods, gogh, gold, golden, green, heliotropism, ideology, inflorescence, ingredient, japan, kansas, kitakyushu, latex, leaves, livestock, margerine, national, nature, oil, peanut, petal, plantae, production, russia, snack, society, sonnenblumenkernbrot, source, spirals, stalk, state, stem, sterile, sun, sunbutter, sunflower, symbol, van, vegan, yellow