I've been fascinated with sunflowers ever since reading this back issue of scientific american several years ago. In the past decade the sunflower, grown mainly for the oil in its seeds, has become a major factor in U.S. agriculture. Worldwide it ranks second only to the soybean as a source of vegetable oil
I was traveling through central Georgia and was surprised by several miles of sunflower farms along the highway. They looked similar to this pic. It was truly amazing to see.