The Three, No, Four Sisters
You may be familiar with the term “the Three Sisters,” staples of Native American gardens: Corn, Beans, Squash. In addition to these three staples in many of these prehistoric gardens there was a fourth “sister,” the Sunflower, Helianthus annuus. These bright yellow flowers were grown by ancient Americans for food, medicinal and religious uses.
Indigenous Americans would crush and grind the seeds, creating a type of flower used to make cakes and breads. Much as we use the seeds for snacks today, these prehistoric people would also simply eat the seeds. Medicinally the plant was used to treat sunstroke, as a snake bit remedy and for wart removal. Additionally the plant was also used to create yellow and purple dyes for body and pottery painting and for coloring textiles. In some ancient American cultures the sunflower was seen as a symbol of the sun god and used in their religious ceremonies.
The Spread to Europe
Spanish explorers returned to Europe with sunflower seeds in the 1500s. These bright yellow plants were first used in ornamental gardens in Madrid Spain...
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