The sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas, with a large flowering head. The stem of the flower can grow as high as 10 feet tall, with the flower head reaching up to 12 inches in diameter with the “large” seeds. What is usually called the flower is actually a head. The florets inside the circular head are called disc florets, which mature into what are traditionally called “sunflower seeds,” but are actually the fruit of the plant. The inedible husk is the wall of the fruit and the true seed lies within the kernel.