Native Americans first domesticated sunflowers from wild plants some 4,300 years ago in what is now the central United States. Eventually, they planted sunflowers across North America, combining the seeds with other vegetables, crushing the seeds into flour for baking, or eating them alone as a snack. The sunflower’s oil also served many purposes, from a snakebite medicine to hair and skin beauty aids.

Intrigued by this plant, 16th century Spanish explorers of the New World took sunflower seeds to Europe. Peter the Great later brought them to Russia, and his compatriots eventually began commercializing sunflower-seed oil in the early 19th century. In the south of France in the late 1880s, Vincent van Gogh fell in love with sunflowers and painted them often.

Sunflowers finally came back home to North America in the 20th century, where they are now abundant in the wild and are also widely planted as a commercial crop, mostly in the Plains states. Millions of gardeners nationwide also grow them for their happy, graceful but short-lived beauty.