Sunflower is a double-tall plant that occupies two vertically stacked blocks, making it one of the tallest naturally occurring flowers in the game alongside lilac, rose bush, and peony. It generates exclusively in the sunflower plains biome, which is a rare variant of the plains found only in specific regions of the world.

One of its most notable properties is that sunflower always faces east, regardless of the player's orientation when placing it. This makes it a useful natural compass: stand so the flower head is directly in your field of view, and you are facing east. This property has no attached game mechanic but is widely used in survival navigation.

Breaking either block drops two yellow dye items directly, without requiring a crafting step. This makes it more efficient for large dye production than dandelion. Yellow dye recolors wool, terracotta, concrete powder, glass, beds, shulker boxes, candles, and leather armor.

Bone meal applied to a sunflower does not grow the plant further but instead spawns a new specimen nearby. The flower can be used in a composter for composting progress.