Helianthus comes from the Greek ~Helios~ which means ~sun~ and ~anthos~ which means ~flower.~ These flowers always turn towards the sun. They were grown for their usefulness, not their beauty. In 1532 Francisco Pizarro reported seeing the natives of the Inca Empire in Peru worshipping a giant sunflower. Incan priestesses wore large sunflower disks made of gold on their garments.