Sunflowers are the very embodiment of summer. With their bright, yellow petals and tall, green stems, it’s easy to see why so many people love them. Often used as a symbol of happiness and congratulations, this bloom is a real bringer of joy. A beautiful and meaningful flower, but you may not understand all about this flower. In this blog post, we will tell you about "8 interesting facts about sunflowers" that you may not know. Let's find out with us!
⦁ Sunflowers are heliotropic; they move in the direction of the sun.
⦁ The scientific name for the sunflower is Helianthus. It comes from the Greek words "helios", meaning sun, and "anthus", meaning flower.
⦁ The first Spanish explorers to arrive in Peru in the sixteenth century mistook a field of sunflowers for gold after seeing the amazing golden sunflower jewelry worn by Incan high priests. It earned the sunflower the symbolism of ‘false riches'. Thanks to Mandy Kirkby’s The Language of Flowers for this intriguing bit of floral history.
⦁ The tallest sunflower ever recorded was 9.17 meters (30 feet, 1 inch)! It was grown in Karst, Germany, back in 2014 and still holds the title today.
⦁ Sunflowers are part of the Asteraceae family, which is the same family as Daisies.
⦁ The sunflower is the national flower of Russia and Ukraine.
⦁ Sunflower seeds are full of calcium, making them an excellent healthy food source.
⦁ The sunflower’s seeds follow the Fibonacci sequence. Created by the mathematician Fibonacci, each number in the sequence is the sum of the two previous numbers. All things in nature tend to follow this pattern; you see it especially in spiral shapes!
We hope this blog post will make you understand more about this beautiful sunflower and make you love sunflowers more.