ˈsunflower
[tr. mod.L. flōs sōlis.]
† 1. a. The heliotrope (Heliotropium). Obs. rare—1.
| 1562 Turner Herbal ii. 13 b, Because it turneth the leaues about wyth the sonne, it is called Heliotropion, that is, turned wyth the sonne, or sonne flower. |
b. Used vaguely or allusively for any flower that turns so as to follow the sun:
cf. heliotrope 1.
| 1652 Benlowes Theoph. iv. xv, Ye Twins of Light, as Sunflow'rs be enclin'd To th' Sun of Righteousnes. 1794 W. Blake Songs Exper., Ah! Sun-Flower 1 Ah, Sunflower! weary of time, Who countest the steps of the sun. 1852 Robertson Serm. Ser. iv. xl. 305 Christian life is as the turning of the sunflower to the Sun. |
2. a. Any species of the genus
Helianthus, N.O.
Compositæ, chiefly natives of N. America, having conspicuous yellow flower-heads with disk and ray suggesting a figure of the sun;
esp. H. annuus, a tall-growing plant commonly cultivated for its very large showy flowers.
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. ccxlvii. 612 Flos Solis maior. The greater Sunne flower. [1613 Purchas Pilgrimage viii. ii. 616 The flower of the Sunne is now no longer the Marigold of Peru, but groweth in many places with vs in England.] 1705 Tate tr. Cowley's Plants iv. C.'s Wks. 1711 III. 395 The Sun-Flow'r, thinking 'twas for him foul Shame To nap by Day-light, strove t' excuse the Blame; It was not Sleep that made him nod, he said, But too great Weight and Largeness of his Head. 1785 Martyn Lett. Bot xxvi. (1794) 399 The annual Sun-flower..is a flower of wonderful magnificence. 1824 W. Irving T. Trav. (1849) 395 The family garden, where..gigantic sunflowers lolled their broad jolly faces over the fences. 1872 Oliver Elem. Bot. ii. 197 Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), the seeds of which yield a valuable oil. |
b. Applied (usually with defining word) to various other composite plants with radiant yellow flower-heads: see
quots.| 1731 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Corona Solis, Another Plant or two..very nearly ally'd to the Sun-Flower... 19. Chrysanthemum; Helenii folio... Dwarf American Sun-Flower... 20. Chrysanthemum,..Doronici folio,..Dwarf-Peach-colour'd American Sun-flower. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Suppl., App., Rudbeckia,..a genus of plants, called..in English the Dwarf-sun-flower. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 328 Sun-flower, Tickseeded, Coreopsis. Ibid., Sun-flower, Willow-leaved, Helenia. 1845–50 A. H. Lincoln Lect. Bot. App. 109 Helenium autumnale (false sun-flower). a 1850 W. A. Bromfield Flora Vectensis (1856) 253 I[nula] Helenium..Velvet Dock. Wild Sun-flower. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Sun-flower. Corn marigold. Chrysanthemum segetum. |
c. fig. Applied to a person of resplendent beauty.
| 1823 Byron Island ii. x, Neuha, the sun-flower of the island daughters. |
3. Applied to various plants whose flowers open only in sunshine or in daylight.
† a. The marigold:
cf. quot. 1563 for
sun's flower s.v. sun n.1 13 c.
Obs. † b. The genus
Helianthemum (N.O.
Cistaceæ), commonly called
rock-rose (also
sun-rose: see
sun n.1 13 b): usually
little sunflower or
small sunflower.
Obs. c. The pimpernel.
local.
d. The star-of-Bethlehem.
local.
| 1670 Ray Catal. Plant. Angliæ F j b, Helianthemum Anglicum luteum Ger[arde]. Dwarf-Cistus, Little Sun⁓flower. 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl., Helianthemum, small Sun-flower. 1866 Treas. Bot 1110/2 Sunflower, Helianthus; also..Calendula officinalis. |
4. attrib. and
Comb., as
sunflower-plant,
sunflower-seed;
sunflower-leaved adj.;
sunflower oil, an oil obtained from the seeds of the sunflower;
Sunflower State U.S., a nickname for Kansas.
| 1822 Hortus Anglicus II. 411 B[uphthalmum] Helianthoides. *Sun Flower-leaved Ox Eye. |
| 1768 Pennsylvania Gaz. 6 Oct. 2/3 The *sun-flower oil may prove equally valuable with the best Florence oil, for diet or medicine. 1860 Ure's Dict. Arts, etc. (ed. 5) III. 843 Sunflower oil. |
| 1857 A. Gray First Less. Bot. (1866) 156 A *Sunflower-plant..has been found to exhale twenty or thirty ounces..of water in a day. |
| 1789 Trans. Soc. Arts II. 113 Fifteen bushels of *Sun Flower Seed. |
| 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xii, There are garden-ornaments, as big as brass warming-pans, that are fit to stare the sun itself out of countenance. Miss Sedley was not of the *sunflower sort. |
| 1888 Harper's Mag. June 39/1 Her citizens affectionately speak of Kansas as the ‘*Sunflower State’. 1904 Minneapolis Times 7 June 6 The floods in Kansas are subsiding. There was danger for a time that the Sunflower state would grow a crop of pond lilies. 1965 Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 2 Sept. (1970) 315 It was a pleasant journey back to the Ranch, flying over the flat, rich lands of Kansas..sunflowers everywhere, as big as salad plates. You can see why it's called the Sunflower State. |