The Sunflower (_Helianthus annuus_) which is so popular and
brilliant an ornament of cottage gardens throughout England in
summer and autumn, is an importation of long standing, and has
been called the Marigold of Peru.
Its general nature and appearance are so well known as scarcely to
need any description. The plant is of the Composite order,
indigenous to tropical America, but flourishing well in this country,
whilst bearing the name of _Heli-anthus_ (Sunflower), and smelling
of turpentine when the disc of the flower is broken across.
The growing herb is highly useful for drying damp soils, because of
its remarkable power of absorbing water; for which reason several
acres of Sunflowers are now planted in the Thames Valley. Swampy
districts in Holland have been made habitable by an extensive
culture of the Sunflower, the malarial miasmata being absorbed and
nullified, whilst pure oxygen is emitted abundantly.