10th October: Sunflowers

Today I'm giving you ten facts about Sunflowers. Sunflowers were today's plant of the day in the French Revolutionary Calendar.

1. The scientific name for sunflowers is helianthus - helia meaning Sun and anthus meaning flower.
2. The French word for them is "tournesol," which means "turns with the sun." This is exactly what they do. When the flowers are young, before they get too heavy and the stalks thicken, they face east in the morning and follow the sun throughout the day. The scientific word for this is heliotropism. Once the flowers are too heavy to move easily, they remain facing east.
3. Sunflowers are native to the Americas. The Aztecs worshipped them as a manifestation of the sun god. Images of sunflowers made of Gold have been found in their temples. They were cultivated as far back as 3000BCE for food, Yellow dye, oil and medicines.
4. When the Spanish arrived in the area, in the 1500s they were taken with these flowers and took them back to Europe. Tsar Peter the Great liked them and introduced them to Russia. They became popular there because the Russian Orthodox Church banned oils during Lent - but since sunflowers were a new thing, they weren't on the list of banned oils.
5. Sunflowers are the national flower of Russia and Ukraine and the state flower of Kansas.
6. Each sunflower bloom is actually made up of as many as 2,000 smaller flowers, which can self pollinate and each produce a seed.
7. They grow fast and tall, generally up to about 12 feet. The record for the tallest sunflower is held by M Heijims in Oirschot, Netherlands, who grew one in 1986 which reached 25 feet 5 ½ inches. The biggest bloom was grown in Canada and measures 32.5 inches across. At the other end of the scale, sunflowers just two inches tall have been grown using the Bonsai technique.
8. There are about 70 different species of sunflower. They are not all yellow. Some are Orange, Red, peach or even striped. There are even some which are shaped like puffballs.
9. They're not just pretty to look at. Native Americans and Mexicans used them as medicines for chest pain, pulmonary troubles and kidney complaints. Sunflower oil is rich in calcium, Iron and vitamins A and D. They're good at clearing toxins from the soil where they grow, too, even the real nasties like Lead, arsenic and Uranium. Millions were planted for that purpose after the tsunami destroyed reactors in the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan.
10. Finally, some folklore. Sunflowers are connected with the zodiac sign of Leo. If you sleep with one under your pillow, you'll become wise, but it is unlucky to cut one down.

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