Ana1

=== The sunflower is native to the __**[|Central Americas]**.__ The evidence thus far is that it was first [|domesticated] in [|Mexico], by at least 2600 BC. It may have been domesticated a second time in the middle [|Mississippi Valley], or been introduced there from Mexico at an early date, as [|maize][|Tennessee] and date to around 2300 BC. Many [|indigenous American peoples] used the sunflower as the symbol of their [|solar deity], including the [|Aztecs] and the [|Otomi] of Mexico and the [|Incas] in [|South America]. [|Francisco Pizarro] was the first European to encounter the sunflower in Tahuantinsuyo, [|Peru]. [|Gold][|seeds], were taken back to [|Spain] early in the 16th century. Some researchers argue that the Spaniards tried to suppress cultivation of the sunflower because of its association with solar religion and warfare. === === During the 18th century, the use of [|sunflower oil] became very popular in [|Europe], particularly with members of the [|Russian Orthodox Church] because sunflower oil was one of the few oils that was not prohibited during [|Lent], according to some [|fasting traditions]. ===
 * SUNFLOWERS **[[image:flor.jpg width="269" height="338" align="right"]]