Q 01/05

What is the scientific name of the common sunflower?

A) Helianthus annuus

B) Heliotropium arborescens

C) Rudbeckia hirta

D) Calendula officinalis

Answer · why

A) Helianthus annuus

Helianthus annuus is the common sunflower; wild plants branch into many heads, but Native American farmers bred the crop into a single-headed plant.

Q 02/05

The genus name Helianthus is built from two Ancient Greek words. What do they mean?

A) Gold and petal

B) Seed and oil

C) Tall and yellow

D) Sun and blossom

Answer · why

D) Sun and blossom

The same 'helios' root gives us helium, first detected in the light of the sun before it was found on Earth.

Q 03/05

Sunflowers belong to which plant family, one of the largest on Earth?

A) The roses

B) The lilies

C) The peas

D) The daisies

Answer · why

D) The daisies

The daisies, or Asteraceae, include the dandelion, whose roots people roast and brew as a caffeine-free coffee substitute.

Q 04/05

What is often called a sunflower's 'flower' is really what?

A) A single flower with hundreds of petals

B) A seed pod that opens early

C) A cluster of modified leaves

D) A head made of many tiny flowers

Answer · why

D) A head made of many tiny flowers

A head made of many tiny flowers: each one in the dark centre can ripen into a seed, which is why a single head yields so many seeds.

Q 05/05

Which artist filled Tate Modern's Turbine Hall in 2010 with over 100 million handmade porcelain sunflower seeds?

A) Cai Guo-Qiang

B) Ai Weiwei

C) Anish Kapoor

D) Olafur Eliasson

Answer · why

B) Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei invited visitors to walk on the seeds, but within days Tate fenced them off after warning that the porcelain dust could harm health.