Sunflower

The Sunflower is the first sun-producer that the player acquires. In the music video at the end of the game, Zombies on Your Lawn, a Sunflower is the lead singer (voiced by Laura Shigihara).

The Sunflower is based on the Helianthus annuus [1].

Usage
The Sunflower is the primary sun-producer throughout the entire game, although sometimes replaced with the Sun-shroom for nighttime levels, and often upgraded to the Twin Sunflower in later levels. It produces one normal-sized piece of sun (worth 25 sun), approximately every 24.3 seconds. Just before releasing the sun it has produced, it lights up, so it is easy to know when the sun will appear.

Suburban Almanac Entry
Sunflower

Sunflowers are essential for you to produce extra sun. Try planting as many as you can!

Sun Production: normal

Sunflower can't resist bouncing to the beat. Which beat is that? Why, the life-giving jazzy rhythm of the Earth itself, thumping at a frequency only Sunflower can hear.

Cost 50

Recharge: fast

Strategy
Since sun is the form of energy required to grow your defense, producing more sun means you’ll be able to grow a much larger force. With that in mind, you’ll typically want to have at least one full column of Sunflowers (5 or 6 of them, depending on which area you are playing in), although some players prefer two columns. The Tree of Wisdom recommends planting two columns of Sunflowers, although this is not really necessary; eventually enough sun builds up that, due to the extra plants, there are no more places to plant anything.

As Sunflowers do not ever do any damage, they must be protected. Putting them in the back row (the leftmost, closest to your house) is good practice. However, some people put them in front of their ranged offensive plants (like Peashooters) as a last line of defense before their offensive plants (which they put in the back) get eaten, giving them more time to kill the zombies.

If there are Catapult Zombies in the level, you should plant Umbrella Leaves nearby to protect them from basketballs. If there are Digger Zombies, and the Sunflowers are in the back, you should plant Pumpkins around them to protect them.

Trivia

 * The Sunflower is the only plant to ever verbally speak (during the credits, Zombies on Your Lawn) when it sings the leading role. It is voiced by Laura Shigihara.
 * The Sunflower is available as a prop called "Sunflower Seed Packet" in the Xbox Live Marketplace for 240 Microsoft Points. A watering can and soil will appear, followed by your avatar dropping three seeds into the soil and then watering them. A Sunflower will then pop up and sway a little, causing you to sway as well. The Sunflower will produce some Sun that you catch and hold for a bit. Everything then disappears.
 * Also, Sunflower Glasses are available in the Xbox Live Marketplace for 80 Microsoft Points. Other than the name, they have nothing to do with the Sunflower as they are just glasses with an orange coloured frame and clear glass.
 * The Sunflower's Suburban Almanac entry states that the Sunflower bounces to the beat of the earth. However, the bouncing may be an indication of when it will produce sun because the Sunflower produces sun approximately every twenty bounces.
 * The Sunflower's Suburban Almanac entry states that it likes jazz.
 * In the I, Zombie games, every time a zombie bites a sunflower, it will spew out 25 sun.