Uses for Sunflowers

Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. )
They are annuals that grow to 9ft at a fast rate. Bloom Color: Orange, Red, Yellow. Main Bloom Time: Early fall, Late summer, Mid summer. Form: Upright or erect.

Time of year: Depends on the breed the flowers start to bloom between mid summer to late fall.

Location:  All of North America

Click Here for map  If it does not grow in your area do a search to see what kind does

Nutritional

Protein, Carbs, Calcium Phosphorus Iron, Vitamins A, B1, B2, Niacin

Uses

 Flowers, Oil, Seeds, Stem 

Edible

• Of course the seeds are edible, raw, cooked, in salads, the list is long.

• You can ground the seeds into powder and make sunflower butter out of it.

• You can germinate the seeds to add to your salads

• Young flower bud can be eaten as an artichoke sub.

• And of course cooking oil. CLICK HERE for how to make it

Medical

• Teas from the leaves helps with water retention

• Teas from the leaves are also helpful with fevers

• Crush the leave into a mash and it helps reduce swelling  from snake and spider bites

• The leaves can be dried and saved for later use

• The roots are used as a wash for joint and muscle pains

• Stem from the flower helps with breathing issues.

Other uses

• The oil can be converted into fuel

• The stalk is used for high quality paper

• Dried stem makes great fuel

• The ash of the plant is a great potassium source

• Yellow dye from the flower

• Dark purple or black dye from the seeds

• You can make cloth from the fiber of the stem 

  

Uses for Chicory

Chicory ( Cichorium intybus L).

When flowering, chicory has a tough, groove, and more or less a hairy stem, from 10 to 40 inches tall. The leaves are stalked, lanceolate and unlobed The flowers are usually bright blue, sometimes white or pink.

Time of Year: All year (flowers from July to Oct.)
 

Location: All of North America

Click Here for map  If it does not grow in your area do a search to see what kind does

Nutrient Content

Vitamin A and C, Iron, Calcium, good fiber

USES

Flowers, Leaves and Roots. 

Editable use

• YES!! Another coffee substitute plant. Like Holly is!  But this is caffeine free but still has the taste. The young roots have a caramel taste and the older roots are more bitter. The Roots can be roasted into a coffee grind. In fact is still used as filler in many coffees.

• Leaves can be used in salads. Summer ones are bitter and should be blanched. Winter are not as bitter .

• Flowers make a yummy surprise in any dish

• Boil the roots and they are like a parsnip

• You can boil down the roots to make a sweetener (you would do this the same way you do it to sugar beets.)

• Use the roots in soups and sauces as a thickener  

Medical Uses

• Best time to harvest the roots for medical purposed is in the fall.

• The root extract help to slow the heart down

• You can use the latex in the stem to treat warts

Other Uses

• Because the plant is high in sugar it can be turned in to alcohol

• The leave make a blueish dye