Sunflower is one of those plants that immediately evoke associations with summer, sun and endless yellow fields. No wonder it is called the “sun flower”. But are sunflowers and the sun really as tied as we are used to thinking? Let’s quickly reveal the secret “Sunflowers and the Sun : Unexpected Facts That Will Surprise You”.
There is a popular myth: the sunflower always returns to the sun during the day. In fact, the answer is more complicated than it seems. As a child, you may have heard from teachers or seen in cartoons how the sunflower follows the sun from sunrise to sunset. But an adult sunflower behaves completely differently.
How a sunflower “follows” Sun : unexpected facts that will surprise You
If you watch sunflowers in a field, they all seem to be facing the same direction. Young sunflowers have a unique property called heliotropism – the ability of a plant to move in response to light. During the day, a young sunflower returns its “head” from sunrise to sunset, and at night it returns back to the east to meet the sun again in the morning. It looks almost magical!
But when the sunflower matures, its movements stop. Why? The answer lies in a growth hormone called auxin . It stimulates the stem cells to stretch, especially on the shady side. In young plants, this causes them to lean toward the light. But when the sunflower reaches maturity, its stem becomes stronger and less flexible. In addition, the plant no longer needs to grow actively, so it stops “following” the sun.
So if you see mature sunflowers in a field, almost all of them will be returned to the east. It’s a kind of natural strategy. This way the flower gets maximum morning light, which helps it pollinate better.
Unexpected facts about sunflowers that will surprise you
Sunflower is not just a symbol of sun and summer. But a real miracle of nature. You may be used to seeing these plants as huge yellow “plates”. But did you know that they can be a completely different color?
Sunflowers don’t have to be yellow!
Yellow is a classic. But there are varieties with petals of red, burgundy, even almost black! For example, the Velvet Queen variety impresses with a rich dark burgundy shade, and Moonwalker has delicate creamy white petals. Nature has clearly decided that one “sunny” palette is too boring!
Unexpected Facts: Sunflower is a real “cleaner” of the soil
This plant not only gives beauty and useful seeds. But is also capable of… absorbing radiation! After the Chernobyl accident, scientists planted sunflowers in contaminated areas because their roots extract harmful substances from the soil, in particular strontium and cesium. This is a natural “filter” that helps the ecosystem cleanse itself.
Sunflowers and the Sun: A French Legend of Love
There is a romantic legend in France about how sunflowers came to be. They say that a young girl fell unconsciously in love with the Sun. She waited for him every morning, watched him in the evening. But the Sun was cold and did not reciprocate. In the end, the gods took pity on her devotion and turned the girl into a flower that always returns for its beloved…
Sunflowers and the sun: as a symbol of energy and resilience
For many peoples, the sunflower is associated with the sun, warmth and prosperity. In Chinese culture, it symbolizes longevity and luck, in the Christian tradition, faith and spiritual aspiration to light, and in Ukraine, fertility, peace and the power of the native land. Its image is often used in folk embroidery, songs and fairy tales.
Sunflowers in Art
The most “artistic” sunflowers are, of course, the works of Vincent van Gogh. His series of paintings with sunflowers became a symbol of the inexhaustible energy of life and creative passion. But this image is found not only in painting. For example, Mexican artists often depict sunflowers as the personification of solar power. In Japanese art they symbolize summer carefreeness.
The sunflower is mentioned in many works, especially as a metaphor for hope and fortitude. For example, in the poetry of Pavlo Tychyna it is a symbol of the sun and harmony with nature, and in the works of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry the sunflower represents the search for truth.
Scientifically speaking, no, a sunflower does not feel and cannot “love” the sun in the human sense. But if you look at it metaphorically, its behavior does create the impression that it has a special attraction to light.
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