Question

A genus of ornamental plants which is being cultivated for extracting an important edible oil from its cypsela fruit is
A) Helianthus
B) Brassica
C) Sesamum
D) Cocos

Answer 1

Hint: This is an annual herb with a rough hairy stem 1–4.5 metres high and broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves 7.5–30 cm long arranged in spirals. The attractive heads of flowers are 7.5–15 cm wide in wild specimens and often 30 cm or more in cultivated types.

Complete answer:
Sunflower is the flower of Helianthus genus. It has nearly 70 species of herbaceous plants of the aster family (Asteraceae). Sunflowers are native primarily to North and South America. Some of its species are cultivated as ornamentals for their spectacular size & flower heads and for their edible seeds.
Its flowers are brown, yellow, or purple, while the petallike ray flowers are yellow. Its fruit is a single-seeded achene. Oilseed varieties typically have small black achenes. Oilseed which are grown for direct seed consumption are known as confection varieties. They have larger black-and-white achenes that readily separate from the seed within.

The sunflower is valuable from an economic as well as from an ornamental point of view. Its leaves are used as fodder and the flowers yield a yellow dye. Its seeds contain oil and are used for food. Its yellow oil is obtained by compression of the seeds and is considered equal to almond oil for table use.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A)

Note: Sunflower oil cake is used for poultry feeding. Its oil is used in soap and paints and also as a lubricant. Its seeds may be eaten dried or roasted into nut butter and are common in bird seed mixes.