'Zaria' Oilseed Sunflower (Ukraine)

Helianthus annuus

Origin: Ukraine

Improvement status: Cultivar

Seeds per packet: ~30

Germination tested 10/2025: 55%

Life cycle: Annual

Though native to eastern North America, sunflowers have been adopted by Ukraine as a both a critical agricultural product (especially in the form of oil) and a potent national symbol. Grown across many thousands of acres, Ukrainian sunflower oil and seeds are exported around the world. We got 'Zaria' from the USDA's National Plant Germplasm System, which has maintained a stock since it received this exceptional oilseed variety from the Soviet Union's famed Vavilov Institute in 1972. 'Zaria' grows on beautiful, human-sized plants. The dark seeds are among the most oil-rich — testing at 45% oil content — of any sunflower in the USDA's collection of over 3,500 varieties. We are thrilled to be introducing it to growers in the US for the first time, along with our colleagues at Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance. These seeds were grown by our dear friend Tomia MacQueen of Wildflower Farm in Pennington, New Jersey.