SUNFLOWER

Description

Don’t let that sunny face fool you. This is no humble prairie weed. It’s a world-traveling powerhouse of beauty, nourishment and literal saving of the earth. 

The classic sunflower disguises itself as a simple blossom resembling a super-sized version of its cousin, the daisy. Both are composite flowers, meaning that each flower head is actually a community of smaller blooms: its outer circle of ray florets look like petals surrounding the flower’s round center of shorter, denser disc florets.

In sunflowers grown for consumption, the disc florets mature into edible seeds. Newer F1 hybrids created for the cut flower industry do not develop seeds. Most don’t even make pollen, but even the ones that do are considered allergy-safe by The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Most florist sunflowers bloom as a single 5–18 cm diameter flower head on a sturdy, hairy stem with large, deep green, heart-shaped leaves. Depending on the cultivar, sunflowers can grow from six inches to 12 feet tall, but most florist stems are 46-92 cm.

There are double and multi-flowering cultivars in a variety of warm colors, and new mini and multi-branched hybrids are gaining popularity; the classic, yellow-fringed single sunflowers still remain as the consumer favorite.

Sunflowers are named not only for their appearance, but also for their habit of keeping their developing flower heads constantly turned toward the sun. This is called heliotropism, from the Greek words “helios” (meaning sun) and “tropos” (meaning to turn or change). Once the ray florets have opened completely, sunflowers face east full-time. Science has not yet confirmed why.

Discover more of the humble sunflower’s unexpected superpowers in the “Fun Facts” section below.

Colors: Yellow, gold, red or brown ray florets (outer “petals”); brown, red, green or black disk florets (centers)

Special Care

To minimize shipping damage, cut sunflowers are usually shipped in the tight bud stage with their heavy heads netted. Buds should have a hint of color showing, and with proper care should open fully within three days. Diseased or withered leaves shorten vase life more than issues with the flowers themselves do, so if possible, choose sturdy stems with bright green, full leaves and unbruised flower buds. The stems’ leaves should also have a bright green color. For potted versions, select plants with sturdy, compact stems, healthy leaves and buds no more than halfway open. Display in a cool, bright, well-ventilated area and away from ethylene sources. Keep the soil moist but not soggy.

Recut the stems about 2.5 cm at an angle (45-degrees) and remove all foliage below the water line. Although not required, stems can be recut under running water or in a bowl of clean water. Cutting under water may reduce the risk of air pockets forming at the stems’ base and allows the flowers to absorb water right away. Also, pretreating stems for half an hour in a bucket of clean water with a few drops of detergent can help prevent the bacterial growth that leads to stem block, water stress and premature wilting.

For storage and use, sunflowers benefit much more from biocide than flower food, though an all-purpose preservative can help encourage buds to open. Store at 33–38°F (0.5–3.5°C); keeping sunflowers cool will help counteract their tendency to bend downward. Change the floral solution daily to keep the water clear and the thirsty stems hydrated.

Several cultivars of sunflowers are sensitive to ethylene; prolonged exposure to the gas may cause the stems’ ligules to shed. Another common issue among sunflowers is drooping. This typically happens when the stems are dehydrated, or simply because they are too top heavy! To revive droopy or fallen heads, recut and place the stems in fresh water to rehydrate the flowers; they should perk right back up.

When designing with sunflowers, make sure to provide support for the heads and stems. In arrangements, the stems should be kept in a cool place with good ventilation and away from direct sunlight. Sunflowers are notorious heavy drinkers, so always keep stems well-hydrated to help support their heavy head weight.

Sunflowers are suitable for drying. Hang them in a well-ventilated, warm location and allow them to air dry.

Fun Facts:

• The genus name comes from the Greek words “helios” (meaning sun) and “anthos” (meaning flower), referencing how sunflowers turn to follow the sun’s movements. This suntracking, also known as heliotropism, is caused by circadian rhythms (behavioral changes linked to an internal clock). At the bud stage, young flowers face east at dawn, then slowly turn west as the sun moves across the sky. Once nighttime arrives, they slowly turn back east to begin the cycle again. The complete movement carries through the plants’ maturity.

• Its epithet means annual, referencing the plant’s yearly life cycle.

• Some sunflower symbolism stems from stories of Greek mythology. The sunflower’s dedication to the sun is celebrated in tales of Apollo (god of sun and light). According to legend, a water nymph fell in love with Apollo, and in her adoration, she would sit and gaze at the sun (Apollo) each day. Sadly, Apollo took no notice of the water nymph, so the other gods felt compassion for her and turned her into a sunflower. This story helps to explain why sunflowers rotate to follow the sun.

• Humans have grown, eaten and worshiped the sunflower for 5,000 years—even longer than corn! Native American tribes that resided along the rolling hills of the Great Plains domesticated the sunflower. For over 3,000 years, they used their seeds as a food source and for other practical activities. The oils extracted from the seeds were used to make paint, soaps and cosmetics, and the plant’s petals were used in the production of dyes. These uses have extended into the 21st century, with most modern consumption of the plant being for ornamental or agronomic purposes. Today, you can find sunflower-based products in your common grocery store: sunflower cooking oil, seeds, butters, beauty products, and bird food (among others).

• Several Native American tribes also used sunflowers in herbal medicines, particularly to treat kidney infections, colds, chest pains, insect/animal bites, dermatological ailments and other medical issues. Today, sunflower oil is used for its anti-inflammatory effects, and when consumed as a cooking oil, it can help reduce cholesterol. Sunflower oil is high in polyunsaturated fat, which contains fatty acids that are considered essential for the human body. In terms of benefits for the skin, sunflower oil contains antioxidants (like Vitamin E) that protect skin from free radicals, and oleic acid, which can be used for treating wounds.

• Sunflower seeds were particularly sacred for the Plains Indians; one of their many traditions involved placing a bowl of sunflower seeds on the graves of their deceased loved ones, in hopes the seeds would sustain their journeys in the afterlife.

• Ancient farmers ground sunflower seeds into flour for tortilla-like bread, porridge and thickened stews and drinks. They squeezed oil from the kernels for body paints and salves. They also used the leaves, petals, roots and stalks to make medicinal teas, poultices, dyes, textiles and building materials. And sometimes they just cracked the seeds and munched, just as we do 5,000 years later!

• Sunflowers have strong ties to ancient cultures in South America. The Incans revered the sunflower and used them as emblems of their sun god. Incan priestesses wore sunflower disks made of pure gold on their clothing, which were later prized possessions of Spanish conquerors. The plants were also made into flower crowns and used during ceremonies held in their temples.

• When the Spanish explorers arrived around the year 1500, the indigenous people proudly shared their sacred plant, and the conquistadors eagerly carried the seeds on their voyages home. Sunflowers quickly became popular across Europe, but were used primarily as garden and medicinal flowers until the 18th century, when the Russian tsar Peter the Great took an interest in them as an oil crop.

• By the 19th century, sunflower oil was a commercial crop in Russia, and horticulturists were perfecting two types of cultivars. One grows small, oil-rich black seeds for pressing. The other grows those tasty striped seeds on the giant, single-blossomed plants which we think of as classic sunflowers today.

• The sunflower industry got a lucky boost in the early 1800s, when the Russian Orthodox Church banned most traditional cooking oils from use during Lent. Sunflower oil was an exception, and almost overnight, it became a year-round staple in virtually all Eastern European kitchens. Even today, Russia and Ukraine produce more than half of the global sunflower seed crop, and two-thirds of the world’s sunflower oil. It should come as no surprise that the sunflower is Ukraine’s national flower!

• Back in 19th century North America, native sunflowers did not catch on as a cash crop in the growing agricultural economy, until Russian immigrants brought their own seeds and introduced the “new” sunflower plant back to its land of origin. Heirloom 'Mammoth Russian' sunflower seeds are still popular with home gardeners more than a century later.

• With demand for sunflower oil growing in Europe, both U.S. and Canadian governments introduced growing programs in the early 20th century. Today, American farmers in the plains states and California produce enough to keep seed-loving Americans and backyard birds happily snacking, plus a modest amount of surplus oil for export.

• Throughout history, many renowned artists (especially during the Impressionist era) have been influenced by the beauty of sunflowers. Famed Dutch artist, Vincent van Gogh, painted some of the world’s most famous sunflowers in France in the 19th century. For Van Gogh, these lively flowers had special significance—they were an emblem of happiness, used to capture mood and express identity. He created a series of four sunflower paintings to hang in the guest room for his visiting friend, fellow artist Paul Gauguin, who was blown away. Soon, the rest of the world was too. We still are. “The sunflower is mine, in a way,” Van Gogh later wrote. What a delicious understatement!

• Sunflowers also continued to inspire artists beyond Van Gogh, such as Diego Rivera, Alfred Gockel, and of course, Paul Gauguin, who all featured the flower in several of their paintings.

• Beyond their historical implications in art, cuisine, and agriculture, sunflowers continue to astonish and aid us with their seemingly endless uses. Its stalks can become paper, feed farm animals and float life preservers. The oil’s light flavor and high smoke point make it ideal for cooking, and it can be refined to make paint, soaps, lubricants, cosmetics and biofuels. The leaves, roots and oil are used in herbal medicine to soothe skin ailments, treat venomous bites, ease congestion and digestive discomforts and cool fevers, to name a few. The heads can even be cooked and the petals eaten like artichokes.

• In the language of flowers, sunflowers symbolize happiness, vitality, adoration and friendship, which are all emotions typically connected to the color yellow. In many religions, sunflowers also represent faithfulness, given their sun-like appearance. Some religious groups associate the sun with spiritual knowledge, and treasure its abilities to provide energy and light. In reflecting so many of the sun’s positive characteristics, it’s no wonder that sunflowers are cherished for their brightness, warmth and vibrant charm. This makes them a favorite motif for décor, clothing, jewelry and even tattoos.

• Artists and designers aren’t the only people captivated by sunflowers. They are a mathematician’s dream of symmetry and pattern. The disc florets align in intricate spirals and counter-spirals, with new buds in the center nudging the maturing florets toward the edges as they grow. The pattern follows the Fibonacci Sequence (where the size of each number—or spiral, or floret—equals the previous two added together).

• Each diamond-shaped floret rotates exactly 137.5 degrees to nestle neatly between its neighbors like a puzzle piece. This is one of nature’s favorite patterns, the Golden Mean (placing an object equal distance from the others around it). Even the non-seed-producing florist hybrids grow in this fascinating and beautiful pattern.

• A member of the Compositae family, there are about 70 species of sunflowers and each can self-pollinate to reproduce. Seeds produced from self-pollination actually grow to be identical to the original plant! The H. annuus species is the only one we eat.

• A single sunflower has up to 2,000 seeds.

• Native sunflowers still grow wild throughout the Americas, especially in the prairie states, where Kansas claims them as the state flower. These vigorous ancient cultivars are now being cross-bred with their over-domesticated descendants, to increase the commercial hybrids’ natural disease and pest resistance.

• Florist sunflowers are grown in fields and greenhouses across the globe. They are also a popular boutique crop for small growers supplying local florists and consumers.

• Sunflowers are used to celebrate third wedding anniversaries.

• Sunflower heads are so large and durable that they can be used as a scrubbing tool!

• The sunflower is one of only a few varieties that has the word “flower” in its name.

• Some sunflower plants can grow 395 cm in height! Such “tall” sunflower species include: 'Skyscraper', 'American Giant', 'Sunforest Mix' and 'Russian Mammoth'. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the tallest sunflower ever recorded was grown in Karst, Germany by Hans-Peter Schiffer and measured 30’ and 1” (9.17 m).

• The sunflower’s most amazing super power is actually saving earth. Scientists call sunflowers hyperaccumulators; the New York Times calls them “toxic avengers with leaves.” Sunflowers grow enthusiastically in all kinds of soils, including those tainted by toxic metals and radiation, and as they grow, their roots absorb and remove the poisons. Harvesting and disposing of contaminated sunflower stalks is far easier and cheaper than scooping and encapsulating tons of topsoil. For these reasons, they have been used to help counteract the damaging effects of some of history's most notorious nuclear disasters. On March 11, 2011, a tsunami destroyed the cooling systems used at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, setting off radiation leaks and forcing nearly 80,000 residents to flee their homes. This was regarded as the world's worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. In response to the disaster, millions of sunflowers (along with mustard, amaranthus, and cocksomb) were planted in Fukushima to soak up toxins from the ground and brighten the region’s surrounding hillside. Sunflowers have also been used to clear radiation on the Hiroshima and Chernobyl nuclear disaster sites, and to remove lead from industrial sites in Detroit. Decontaminating the earth with plants is called phytoremediation.

• Because of its radiation-neutralizing super power, the sunflower is used as an international symbol for nuclear disarmament.

• Sunflowers have made their appearance in outer space! In 2012, during a personal biology experiment, NASA astronaut Don Pettit was able to bloom a sunflower on the International Space Station. Grown in zero gravity conditions, the resulting flower was somewhat odd in appearance compared to its Earth-grown counterpart.