A version of the sunflower, or maybe a distant cousin, a wild and small version, sprouts along disturbed earth near road beds in Southern California. Called "Black Eyed Susans," these wild flowers remind me of the tall plants with huge seed beds which actually rotate to follow the sun across the sky in summer..
A couple sunflowers in a garden attract birds who eat the seeds and these days there are a great variety of seeds you can buy with some variation of color - the yellows to oranges and reds - and height - five feet or more is very common. So I was wondering if there is such a thing as a "HUNGARIAN SUNFLOWER." .
To my delight there is! I found this "Heirloom" Hungarian Sunflower Organic Seed for sale on the Internet. SUSTAINABLE SEED CO : ORGANIC HUNGARIAN SUNFLOWER which says "
Large single heads with yellow petals, large black seeds of good flavor, good for sprouting because the sprouts are huge and nutritious.
Add sprouts to salads or sandwiches.
Excellent roasted.
Hungarian heirloom.
Popular protein-rich food in Eastern Europe.
From Martin Ringhoffer, Hungary.
I had no idea people sprout the seeds to eat the sprouts!
A little more reading and I learned that the Hungarian Black Seeded sunflower may have been started long ago from seed brought from the Americas to Europe.
