The sunflower is an annual plant in the family Asteraceae and native to the Americas, with a large flowering head (inflorescence). The stem can grow as high as 3 meters (9 3/4 ft), and the flower head can reach 30 cm (11.8 in) in diameter with the "large" seeds.

To grow well, sunflowers need full sun. They grow best in fertile, moist, well-drained soil with a lot of mulch. In commercial planting, seeds are planted 45 cm (1.5 ft) apart and 2.5 cm (1 in) deep. Sunflower is adapted to a range of soil conditions, but grows best on well-drained, high water-holding capacity soils with a near neutral pH (6.5-7.5). In temperate regions, sunflower requires approximately 11 days from planting to emergence, 33 days from emergence to head visible, 27 days from head visible to first anther, 8 days from first to last anther, and 30 days from last anther to maturity. Soil temperature should be a minimum of 7ºC for planting and around 10ºC for germination. Production on high-stress soils such as those affected by drought, salinity or wetness is not exceptional but compares favorably with other commonly grown commercial crops.

There are several types of sunflower oils produced, such as high linoleic, high oleic and mid oleic. High linoleic sunflower oil typically has at least 69% linoleic acid. High oleic sunflower oil has at least 82% oleic acid. Variation in unsaturated fatty acids profile is strongly influenced by both genetics and climate. In the last decade high stearic sunflower lines have been developed in Spain to avoid the use of hydrogenated vegetable oils in food industry.

Sunflower oil also contains lecithin, tocopherols, carotenoids and waxes. Sunflower oil is produced from oil type sunflower seeds. Sunflower oil is light in taste and appearance and has a high Vitamin E content. It is a combination of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats with low saturated fat levels.

To date, sunflower oil has only been used as edible oil due to its higher price and limited supply in comparison to other oils. But due to its naturally high proportion of linoleic acid and advances in oil processing technology, the oil has advantages as a drying oil over linseed oil as it does not yellow with time. The yellowing is due to the high linolenic acid content of the linseed oil. With the development of varieties high in oleic acid, and if a reduction in production costs can be achieved, sunflower oil could be used in the oleochemical industry.

Sunflower is perceived to be a drought tolerant crop as it roots deeply and extracts water at depths not reached by other crops. Sunflower is comparable to maize in many ways although it can extract water more efficiently in low-rainfall areas. The seedbed should be prepared so that a moist soil environment is available for germination and growth. The soil surface should be left as rough as possible to reduce the risk of soil erosion as drifting and blowing soil can seriously damage young seedlings.