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Common sunflower
Sunflowers, a member of aster family native to North America, were and still is cultivated for their oil and their edible seeds [1] The spanish name of sunflower is girasol which means to turn with the sun, a behaivor that is characteristic of the plant [2]
Chimalacatle was the name cited by Hernandez Historia de las plantas de Nueva España. In 1890, as “la flor que llaman del sol” in Joseph de Acosta Historia Natural.
Archaeology
Human consumption is deposited as coprolites [3]
Will et Burke (2006) stated a single origin of domesticated sunfower at east central US (cf. Heiser 1954), also by the evidence of charcoal of the fruit of the plant (i.e. achene) 4000 YBP
Links
- Smith B D 2014 The domestication of Helianthus annuus L. (sunflower) Veget Hist Archaeobot 23:57–74.