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Friday 9 June 2023

Sunflowers ... did you know?

Who doesn't like sunflowers, they are easy to grow from seed and are such a cheerful looking flower. We used to plant sunflower seeds with our children and now our grandchildren take great delight in seeing their plants grow... and they do grow high! But there is more to sunflowers than just their wonderful colour as this article below details, I hope you find it an interesting read.


Becca Marsh writes:-
"Sunflowers are popular flowers often associated with the fall and harvest seasons. They have featured in some of the most famous paintings, hanging in farmhouses and on tea towels. But why has there always been a fascination with this modest plant? These curious plants have kept people questioning for many years. Many people still wonder how sunflowers always move to face the sun. 
Read on to find out more ...

What is heliotropism?
If you haven’t noticed, a young sunflower will always face the sun. This sun tracking is called heliotropism. Heliotropism is a plant’s response to sunlight which corresponds to the directional growth of the plant. Sunflowers are thought to participate in heliotropism due to an internal clock, similar to humans. The biological clock helps the plant grow to its fullest and receive the most energy possible.

What is the complete cycle of heliotropism?
The movement of the sunflowers is often referred to as heliotropism. The sunflower head will be facing east at dawn, ready for the sun to rise. The sun rises as the sunflower’s head begins to rise with it. As the sun moves across the sky throughout the day, the sunflower head tracks it. Eventually, when the sun sets in the west, the head finishes in this position. Overnight it gradually returns to face east, ready to greet the sun.

How do sunflowers move?
When a young sunflower plant is growing, it tracks the sun for ultimate growth, and the stem plays a vital role in this. The stem elongates during the day to support the moving head. In the morning, the east side of the stem will expand as the day goes on, allowing the head to move west. And then, at night, the reverse happens, and the west side of the stem will elongate to allow the head to move back east.

Why do young sunflowers always face the sun?
Young sunflowers need to track the sun to get the optimum energy to grow strong. This is known as photosynthesis, which is the act of leaves collecting the sun’s rays and converting these into energy and food for the plant. A lack of sun will leave a plant weak. Tests have been carried out over the years, experimenting with sunflowers, and one experiment attached the sunflower stem in one position so it couldn’t move. As a result, the sunflower had less leaf area and decreased biomass.


Once sunflowers reach a particular maturity, they no longer track the sun.
As sunflowers mature, they stop tracking the sun. This is primarily because their overall growth slows as they reach their peak. As they age, the flower’s circadian clock reacts positively to the early morning sun rays instead of the afternoon sun. This stunt in the plant’s growth means its internal clock adapts and focuses on adequate sunlight.

Another reason for sunflowers giving up their heliotropic ways is for the bees! Bees are five times more likely to land on a flower facing eastwards than one facing west. This is because the flower will become warmer quicker from the morning sunlight. Bees prefer warmer blossoms so that they will be attracted to these flowers.

What are the benefits of facing east?
As the sunflower matures, it must ensure its legacy will live on. As mentioned above, it faces east to encourage bees to help it pollinate. The sunlight and warmth encourage the flowers to bloom and produce pollen quicker than they were facing west. Many experiments have been carried out to test this theory through genotyping. Sunflowers also grow larger and heavier seeds if facing east.

Sunflowers have fascinated humans for many years and continue to draw our attention with their human-like movements in correlation to the sun. These bright flowers have a circadian rhythm, similar to humans’ biological clock, and once they reach a mature age, they remain facing east to help the bees pollinate. Sunflowers are so recognizable, their majestic yellow petals provide colour to a landscape and beauty to the eye."
Words and pictures above taken from here

Are Sunflower Seeds Good for You? Nutrition, Benefits and More ...
Sunflowers are rich in healthy fats, beneficial plant compounds, and several vitamins and minerals that may play a role in reducing your risk of common health problems, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Sunflower seeds are popular in trail mix, multi-grain bread, nutrition bars, and for snacking straight from the bag. You can read more about sunflower seeds, including their nutrition, benefits, and how to eat them here

This blog is presented in a magazine style - we hope something for everyone. You will find a variety of articles, studies, thoughts, photographs, music and recipes! However, not all the recipes ideas featured in this blog may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter. If you have any concerns about your health, it is always advisable to consult your doctor or health care team.

All the best Jan

32 comments:

Tom said...

...I enjoy facing the sun if I have my sunglasses.

roentare said...

Sunflowers are great for landscape photography too. Love your article on heliotropism.

HappyK said...

I love how sunflowers follow the sun!!
Such pretty happy flowers.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I love sunflowers...as you know! And it's fun to learn more about them. I thought you might like that blackberry crumble recipe. I may try to make an apple crumble with the same topping. Enjoy your weekend!

Louca por porcelana said...

Interesting post, I love sunflowers. Best wishes for you and yours.

Elephant's Child said...

This is fascinating. Thank you. I hope that Ukraine can again follow the sun.

J.P. Alexander said...

Adoro los girasoles genial entrada te mando un beso.

peppylady (Dora) said...

Sunflower sprouts are good.
Coffee is on and stay safe.

Margaret D said...

Interesting read Jan. We have never grown sunflowers, mostly just food.

Barwitzki said...

It's a dream to see her on the field... isn't it...
I occasionally put the seeds in my bread...
many greetings to you.
I wish you a happy weekend.
Hug of Viola

Valerie-Jael said...

I LOVE sunflowers. Onc I grew some n my balcony and they grew up to the balcony above. My neighbour gave them sticks for support, and they were lovely, she enjoyed them no end! Valerie

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

Fascinating!
In a weird way, kind of creepy thinking of a sunflower moving around out there, all alone, back and forth until too old to bother. :)
Also reminds me to put seeds in the ground..

Shari Burke said...

When we still lived in Maine (in the US) we belonged to a community supported agriculture farm program. Part of our farm share was the u-pick fields which included veg, herbs, and flowers. They used to grow these gorgeous rusty coloured sunflowers, which I just loved. They were so beautiful.

eileeninmd said...

Interesting post and topic, I love sunflowers!
Take care, enjoy your weekend!

My name is Erika. said...

Sunflowers are really beautiful flowers without being high maintenance. This was an interesting post for certain. I haven't been in the garden yet but I hope the woodchuck didn't eat my sunflowers coming up while I was gone. Happy weekend to you both.

Christine said...

Very interesting to learn about heliotropism and the sunflower's biological clock.

Iris Flavia said...

I love sunflowers, thank you, that was an interesting read. Sad they now stand for war, too...

Haddock said...

Good to know the positive things about sunflower. I love Sunlight and Sunflower (in that order)

Conniecrafter said...

I love sunflowers and like to watch them move to face the sun, a couple years ago we planted some seeds along our back fence, we would check on them and the got to be about 5 inches tall and the next time we checked they were all chewed down, we have rabbits in the area so we are thinking they had a good feast on them, we haven't tried growing them since.

Bill said...

Sunflowers are beautiful. Thanks for sharing, Jan.

VENTANA DE FOTO said...

Tengo predilección, por esa planta. Hay ahora muchos campos sembrados de girasoles. El otro día recorrí un camino en el que había girasoles sembrados, pero las rejas de la alambradas obstaculizaban las fotos.
Feliz fin de semana. Un abrazo

Anonymous said...

Good night sweet dreams take care

DeniseinVA said...

A fun article on sunflowers. I not only love to see them but I enjoy eating their seeds. Thanks and all the best :)

Rose said...

I knew they always followed the sun, and figured it was for growth, but did not think about the facing east for the bees as they mature. This was a very interesting post.

Teresa said...

Preciosos los girasoles. Feliz domingo.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Sunflowers are universally loved - and for good reason.

William Kendall said...

Fascinating!

Debbie said...

ooooh this is a really good post!! i love sunflowers and have read many of these facts. i do not love them cut and sitting on a table, they sure do make a mess!!

Snowbird said...

How fascinating! I do enjoy growing sunflowers.xxx

Carla from The River said...

I love sunflowers. I grow them and our kitchen decor is a mix of sunflowers and chickens. :-)
Carla

Lowcarb team member said...

GOOGLE TRANSLATE

J.P. Alexander said...
Adoro los girasoles genial entrada te mando un beso.

I love sunflowers great entrance (post) I send you a kiss.

VENTANA DE FOTO said...
Tengo predilección, por esa planta. Hay ahora muchos campos sembrados de girasoles. El otro día recorrí un camino en el que había girasoles sembrados, pero las rejas de la alambradas obstaculizaban las fotos.
Feliz fin de semana. Un abraz

I have a predilection for that plant. There are now many fields planted with sunflowers. The other day I walked along a road where there were sunflowers planted, but the bars of the barbed wire blocked the photos.
Happy weekend. A hug

Teresa said...
Preciosos los girasoles. Feliz domingo

Beautiful sunflowers. Happy Sunday

Jeanie said...

This is so interesting. I never knew the part about facing the sun. How well named they are!