10 Interesting Sunflower Facts

Saturday, November 14th 2015. | Plants


Sunflower Facts inform you with the famous plant in the world. The term sunflower is often used to describe the common sunflower which refers to helianthus annuus. The word helianthus was taken from the Greek words of Helios and anthos. The word Helios means sun, while the word anthos means flower. Therefore, people call it sunflower. Check other interesting facts about sunflower below:

Sunflower Facts 1: the species

There are around 70 species of sunflowers located in the genus of helianthus. All of them are included in the family Asteraceae. Only three species of sunflowers are native to South America, while the rest of them are originated to North America.

Sunflower Facts 2: the temperate regions

The common sunflower or helianthus annuus and H. tuberosus or Jerusalem artichoke are grown by the people who live in the temperate regions. The people will use them as the ornamental plants and food crops.

Facts about Sunflower

Facts about Sunflower

Sunflower Facts 3: the unique sunflowers

The sunflowers can be differentiated from the rest of the members in the family Asteraceae for it has the caduceus pappus. When it is mature, the pappus will fall and detach from the disk flowers.

Sunflower Facts 4: the presence of pappus

There is one species of sunflower which is lack of pappus. But there are some species of sunflowers which have the extra shorter scales.

Sunflower Beauty

Sunflower Beauty

Sunflower Facts 5: under the microscope

You can also check the sunflower under the microscope if you want to know the difference of sunflower with other members in the genus. You can spot the apex where it has the multicellular appendage.

Sunflower Facts 6: the symmetry

The symmetry of sunflower is very famous in the scientific world. The symmetry has been the subject in the Golden angle and Fibonacci numbers.

Sunflower

Sunflower

Sunflower Facts 7: the most familiar species

The most familiar species of sunflower is H. annuus. It is the domesticated sunflower. Get facts about rice here.

Sunflower Facts 8: the disk flowers

The members in this genus have disk flowers. Most of them are in yellow tone.  But you can also spot the reddish lobe on some few disk flowers.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers

Sunflower Facts 9: the perennial sunflower

The people who have a fabulous garden usually are not selecting the perennial sunflowers to decorate the garden due to invasive characters. Get facts about seed here.

Sunflower Facts 10: an endangered species

In 2014, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed H. verticillatus as endangered species. The common name of this sunflower is whorled sunflower.

Sunflower Facts

Sunflower Facts

Do you enjoy reading facts about sunflowers?


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