sunflower

Etymology

From sun + flower. Compare English sunbloom.

noun

1. Any plant of the genus Helianthus, so called probably from the form and color of its floral head, having the form of a large disk surrounded by yellow ray flowers.
   The flowers glowed red and golden: snapdragons and sunflowers, and nasturtians trailing all over the turf walls and peeping in at the round windows. 29 July 1954, J.R.R. Tolkien, “I: A Long-Expected Party”, in The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings; 1)
   1. The commonly cultivated species, Helianthus annuus, a native of America.
2. A bright yellow, like that of the flower petals.
   sunflower:
3. (informal, organic chemistry) Any flat, radially symmetric organic compound such as coronene
4. (pathology) Synonym of worm-star