The Sunflower is a favorite subject of painters, but it is also a medicinal plant as well as a food source for people and animals. A source of oil and oil cake, as well as meal and seeds, the sunflower's cheerful optimism shows as their faces follow the sun. It is always jarring to see them dried and blackened when the seeds are ripened in the fields near us, but then bird food for beautiful cardinals and finches, as well as nutty breads are in prospect--in a way, the sunflower shows us the cycle of life. The flowers are used as a tea used for lung ailments and malaria. A tea brewed from the leaves can act as a febrifuge (reduce fever) and is also an astringent . Leaf poultice may be used on snakebites and insect bites. Leaves are also diuretic and expectorant, as are the seeds. A most noble plant and one that is a true giver of life.