THE SUNFLOWER
The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant in the Asteraceae family with a large flowering head. The stem can grow as high as 9 3/4 ft, and the flower head can reach 30 cm 11.8 inches in diameter with the large seeds. The term "sunflower" is also used to refer to all plants of the genus Helianthus, many of which are perennial plants.
The part we usually call the flower is actually the head made up of numerous florets (small flowers) crowded together. The outer florets are the sterile ray florets and can be yellow, orange,maroon or other colors. The florets inside the circular head mature into what are traditionally called "sunflower seeds," but are actually the fruit of the plant. The shell husk is the wall of the fruit and the true seed lies inside the kernel.
The florets within the sunflower's cluster are arranged in a spiraling pattern. Typically each floret is oriented toward the next producing a pattern of interconnecting spirals left and right spirals. Typically, there are 34 spirals in one direction and 55 in the other; on a very large sunflower there could be 89 in one direction and 144 in the other.
JEZREEL VALLEY
Sunflowers in the bud stage exhibit heliotropism ( is when the apparent daily motion of stars around the Earth, or more precisely around the two celestial poles and it is caused by the Earth's rotation on its axis, so every star apparently moves on a circle, that is called the diurnal circle.). At sunrise, the heads of most sunflowers are turned towards the east. Over the course of the day, they follow the sun from east to west, while at night they return to an eastward position. This motion is performed by motor cells in the pulvinus, a flexible segment of the stem just below the bud. As the bud stage ends, the stem get stiff and the blooming stage is is done.
Sunflowers in the blooming stage are not heliotropic anymore. The stem has frozen, usually in an eastward position. The stem and leaves lose their green color. The wild sunflower typically does not turn toward the sun and may face many directions when mature. However, the leaves will sometimes exhibit some heliotropism.(SEE VIDEO ON BOTTOM OF BLOG)
To grow well, sunflowers need full sun. They grow best in fertile, moist, well-drained soil with plenty of mulch. Commercial planting, seeds are planted 1.5 ft apart and 1 in deep.
Sunflower seeds are sold as a snacks either raw or roasted, with or without salt . Sunflowers can be processed into Sunbutter as an alternative to peanut butter, mostly in China, Russia, the United States, the Middle East and Europe. In Germany, it is mixed together with rye flour to make Sonnenblumenkernbrot (literally: sunflower whole seed bread), which is quite popular in Europe. It is also sold as food for birds and can be used directly in cooking and salads.
Sunflower oil, extracted from the seeds, is used for cooking, as a carrier oil and to produce margarine, as it is cheaper than olive oil.
Sunflowers also produce latex and are the subject of experiments to improve their suitability as an alternative crop for producing hypoallergenic rubber.
Traditionally, several Native American groups planted sunflowers on the north edges of their gardens as a "fourth sister" to the better known three sisters combination of corn, beans, and squash. However, for commercial farmers growing commodity crops, the sunflower, like any other unwanted plant, is often considered a weed. Especially in the midwestern USA, wild (perennial) species are often found in corn and soybean fields and can have a negative impact on yields.
Sunflowers may also be used to extract toxic ingredients from soil, such as lead, arsenic and uranium. They were used to remove uranium, cesium-137, and strontium-90 from soil after the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident where It resulted in a severe release of radioactivity into the environment following a massive power excursion which destroyed the reactor. Two people died in the initial steam explosion, but most deaths from the accident were attributed to radiation.
