Sunflower

Sunflower
These flowers always turn towards the sun. They originated in Central and South America, and were grown for their usefulness, not their beauty. In 1532 Francisco Pizarro reported seeing the natives of the Inca Empire in Peru worshipping a giant sunflower. Incan priestesses wore large sunflower disks made of gold on their garments.
Sunflowers represented different meanings in many cultures. In China they symbolized longevity. In the Andes Mountains, golden images of sunflowers were found in temples. And North America Indians in the prairies placed bowls of sunflower seeds on the graves of their dead.


Name
The Latin name for sunflowers is Helianthus, which derives from the name Helios who was the Greek god of the sun. The suffix –anthos mean flower. It rarely happens that the Latin name for a plant and the vernacular name for a plant come together as it does in the case of a sunflower. Clearly, there is no better name for a brilliant yellow flower that seems to worship the sun.

The sunflower’s method of tracking the sun is paralleled in Greek mythology. Helios was drowned by the Titans but he then rose and became the sun. Clytie, a mortal, loved Helios so much that her envy of her sister, whom Helios loved, resulted in her burying her sister alive. Clytie died of envy and despair. She was then rooted in the spot of her despair to follow Helios course through the sky everyday.

History
Sunflowers come from the Americas. They probably originated in Mexico. They were introduced to Europe in the 16th century. However, sunflowers were primarily used as a decorative plant until the mid-1900s when Russians began to cultivate them as an oil crop.
Description
Sunflowers can grow to be very tall, some varieties grow up to fifteen feet tall. However, today you can find dwarf varieties that are only two or three feet tall. Sunflowers stand straight and have hairy leaves. Traditionally, the blossoms have large dark centers surrounded by brilliant yellow petals. Hybridization has produced many different colors of sunflowers from a lime color ranging through to a deep maroon. There are also varieties of sunflowers with doubled petals, some have so many petals that the traditional dark eye is obscured.

Cultivation
Sunflowers are easy to grow. They need full sunlight. Sunflowers will grow in any soil that drains well. Tall varieties should be staked to prevent them from toppling during high winds.
Other:
Sunflowers are beautiful in bouquets.
Sunflowers are an important source of birdseed. Sunflowers planted in the garden will attract flocks of birds.