Sunflowers are usually tall annuals, that grow to a height of 50–390 centimetres (20–154 in).

The rough and hairy stem is branched in the upper part in wild plants but is usually unbranched in domesticated cultivars.

The petiolate leaves are dentate and often sticky. The lower leaves are opposite, ovate or often heart-shaped. The upper leaves are alternate and narrower.

They bear one or several to many wide, terminal capitula (flower heads), with bright yellow rayth, sunflowers tilt during the day to face the sun, but stop once they begin blooming. This tracking of the sun in young sunflower heads is called heliotropism. By the time they are mature, sunflowers generally face east.

Helianthus species are used as food plants by the larvae of many lepidopterans.