"SUNFLOWERS'

A FEW SUNFLOWER FACTS

Did you ever wonder how Sunflowers got their scientific name Helianthus? It comes from two words, Helios meaning sun, and Anthos, meaning flower. The sunflower "often" follows the sun, and this characteristic is how got its name.

The Sunflower is a good bee plant, ours have been covered in bees this summer.

In many parts of Europe sunflowers have provided/and still provide leaves for smoking, flower buds for salads, flowers for dyes, and oil for cooking.

I read somewhere that there are 67 species of sunflowers, growing in the various countries of the world, but I have a feeling...that the number is way higher now :-)

The sunflower is not one flower, but a cluster of more then 2000 tiny flowers growing together...go and have a closer look next time you come face to face with one.

A sunflower's head can grow to be as big as 2 feet across and the plant itself can be as tall as 18 feet. Well this year our tallest one got to over 10 feet tall, so maybe next year they will be taller :-)

The tallest sunflower grown on record was 25 feet tall and was grown in the Netherlands. Well I wonder if this record has been beaten yet?

The largest sunflower head on record measured 32 1/2 inches across its widest point and was grown in Canada. Again, I wonder if this year this record has been beaten.

The shortest mature sunflower on record was just over 2 inches tall and was grown in Oregon using the Bonsai technique. Wow that is tiny, we grew some short ones this year, but they were still taller than we thought when fully grown.

The sunflower is the state flower of Kansas.

The sunflower is the national flower of Russia.

The French word for Sunflower is tournesol, or literally "turn with the sun".
and In Spain and Italy: Girasol
and In Germany: Sonnenblume

Flower Meaning -
Dwarf Sunflower: Adoration
Tall Sunflower: False Riches


"Keep your face to the sunshine
and you cannot see the shadow.
It's what sunflowers do."
by Helen Keller

Have a great weekend everyone...