Paleo Foraging

Helianthus annuus L.

Synonyms: = Helianthus aridus

Common names: Sunflower, girasol, añil

Apache: nonγile (Castetter and Opler 1936:62)

Cahuilla: pa’akal (Bean and Saubel 1972:76)

Dakota: wahcha-zizi – “yellow flower” (Gilmore 1977:78)

Jemez: péhpah (Cook 1930:23)

Kiowa: ho-soñ-a – “looking at you” (because of the turning of the flower heads along roadways) / ho-soñ-daw (Vestal and Schultes 1939:60)

Omaha-Ponca: zha-zi – “yellow weed” (Gilmore 1977:78)

Pawnee: kirik-tara-kata – “yellow eyes” (Gilmore 1977:78)

Haudenosaunee: uwϵ’wᶓʹsa‘ (Waugh 1916:78)

Navajo: ntíԍíliitshoh – “sunflower, big” (Elmore 1944:87)

Zuñi: o’matsapa – “on tip of stem” (Stevenson 1909:53)

Location in Texas: all TX; common in Travis Co.

Form: herb, up to 10 ft. tall; annual.

Flowers: June-Nov (red, yellow, brown).

Food

Flowers – some tribes ate the flower heads as a vegetable (Vestal and Schultes 1939:61).

Seeds – eaten by the Apache (Bourke 1895:47, Castetter and Opler 1936:48), Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939:61), Navajo (Bourke 1895:47, Elmore 1944:87), Havasupai, Pueblo, Moqui, folk in northern Mexico (Bourke 1895:43,47), and Southern Paiute (Fowler 1995:111).

A basket was placed by the Apache under the plant and the back of the sunflower head was struck with a stick to knock the seeds into the basket (Castetter and Opler 1936:48). They were ground into meal, sifted, made into dough, and baked on hot stones or in hot ashes (Castetter and Opler 1936:48). These cakes were often eaten with jam made from Rhus aromatica fruits (Castetter and Opler 1936:49).

Cakes or bread were made by the Cenis, Caddo, and Asinai (Foster 1998:210, Swanton 1996:132, Hatcher 1927d:152). Seed meal was mixed with cornmeal and made into bread by the Navajo (Elmore 1944:87), Cenis (Foster 1998:207), Caddo (Swanton 1996:128,132), Asinai (Hatcher 1927d:152), Apache, Navajo, Havasupai, Pueblo, Moqui, and folk in northern Mexico (Bourke 1895:48). Nuts (Carya or Juglans spp.) were sometimes added to this bread (Foster 1998:207), or ground pumpkin seeds, watermelon seeds, and beans (Swanton 1996:128). A thick paste of roasted corn and sunflower seeds were made into rolls, called bajan by the Asinai (Hatcher 1927d:172). The seeds were dried, ground, and mixed with other seed meal by the Cahuilla (Bean and Saubel 1972:76). They were a highly prized food and oil source among the Gosiute (Chamberlin 1911:371). They were ground to a paste by the Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939:61).

After roasting the whole seeds, they were lightly ground by the Haudenosaunee and sifted to separate the hulls, which had boiling water poured over them to make a coffee-like beverage out of the roasted hulls (Waugh 1916:145).

To make sunflower oil, the Haudenosaunee bruised the ripe seeds in a mortar, heated them for a half hour, then threw it into boiling water until most of the oil was separated (Parker 1910:102). This was cooled, strained, and the oil was skimmed off (Parker 1910:102).

Sunflowers were cultivated for food by the Southern Paiute (Fowler 1995:111) and many Indigenous North Americans (Havard 1895:103). The seeds were parched, ground up, and made into a bread or the oil was extracted from them for food or grooming (Havard 1895:103).

Sap – coagulated sap was chewed by older members of the Kiowa to diminish thirst (Vestal and Schultes 1939:61).

Gathering Season – seeds: fall (Bean and Saubel 1972:76, Castetter and Opler 1936:48).

Notes – seeds contain 26.2 to 43.8% protein, 28.2 to 54.5% fats, and 3.1 to 5.6% ash (Bean and Saubel 1972:76).

Medicine

Flowers – after removing the involucral bracts, a decoction of the flowers was used for the treatment of pulmonary ills by the Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939:61) and Teton Dakota (Gilmore 1977:78).

Roots – used in combination with the roots of three other species by the Zuñi for treating rattlesnake bite (Stevenson 1909:53).

Material

Seeds –boiled to extract oil to anoint the hair by the Dakota, Omaha, Ponca, Pawnee (Gilmore 1977:78), Haudenosaunee (Waugh 1916:78), and other Indigenous North Americans (Havard 1895:103). Seeds were slightly roasted, pounded in a mortar, boiled, and the oil skimmed off by the Haudenosaunee (Waugh 1916:78). The seeds were boiled by the Jemez to wash in the water (Cook 1930:23).

Seed hulls – a decoction was used by the Navajo as a dull, dark red dye (Elmore 1944:87).

Stems – dried and used as a light for tobacco smoking by the Tewa (Robbins et al. 1916:56). The hollow stems were used by the Navajo to make flutes (Elmore 1944:87).
Juice – used by the Jemez to dress cuts (Cook 1930:23).

Notes – sunflowers were cultivated by the Arikara, Mandan, Hidatsa (Gilmore 1977:78), Navajo (Elmore 1944:87), and Asinai (Hatcher 1927c:55, 1927d:152).