News Plants Sunflower genes don’t fit pattern By Susan Milius August 20, 2002 at 10:12 am - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print From Madison, Wis., at a meeting of the Botanical Society of America WILD VS. NOT. Wild sunflowers (left) form smaller seeds and release them sooner than crop plants (right) do. Burke; J. Rick Comparison between crop and wild sunflower genes suggests that the plant followed an easy route to domestication. Archaeologists estimate that people transformed wild sunflowers into a user-friendly form some 4,000 years ago, explains John M.