Hanging Out #1
by Bruce Bley
Title
Hanging Out #1
Artist
Bruce Bley
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This macro photograph of a yellow and orange sunflower was taken on a recent drive near my community. I enjoy taking macro photographs illustrating the detail of the subject I am photographing. The seeds of the sunflower will be used for feeding birds in the area and for growing new sunflowers next summer. I hope you have enjoyed this photograph and will share it with others. You can see more of my work on my homepage in the various galleries I have created. Thank you for visiting and please come back.
The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence (flowering head), and its name is derived from the flower's shape and image, which is often used to depict the sun. The plant has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves, and circular flower heads. The heads consist of many individual flowers which mature into seeds, often in the hundreds, on a receptacle base. From the Americas, sunflower seeds were brought to Europe in the 16th century, where, along with sunflower oil, they became a widespread cooking ingredient. Leaves of the sunflower can be used as cattle feed, while the stems contain a fiber which may be used in paper production.
What is usually called the "flower" on a mature sunflower is actually a "flower head" (also known as a "composite flower") of numerous florets (small flowers) crowded together. The outer petal-bearing florets (ray florets) are sterile and can be yellow, red, orange, or other colors. The florets inside the circular head are called disc florets, which mature into seeds
The flower petals within the sunflower's cluster are always in a spiral pattern. Generally, each floret is oriented toward the next by approximately the golden angle, 137.5, producing a pattern of interconnecting spirals, where the number of left spirals and the number of right spirals are successive Fibonacci numbers. Typically, there are 34 spirals in one direction and 55 in the other; on a very large sunflower there could be 89 in one direction and 144 in the other. This pattern produces the most efficient packing of seeds within the flower head.
Sunflowers commonly grow to heights between 1.5 and 3.5 m (5-12 ft.). The tallest sunflower confirmed by Guinness World Records is 8.0 m (2009, Germany). In 16th-century Europe the record was already 7.3 m (24 ft., Spain). Most cultivars are variants of H. annuus, but four other species (all perennials) are also domesticated. This includes H. tuberosus, the Jerusalem Artichoke, which produces edible tubers.
Uploaded
July 24th, 2014
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Viewed 125 Times - Last Visitor from Lake Forest, IL on 04/06/2024 at 7:25 AM
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Comments (13)
Bruce Bley
Thank you for the feature in the group "Seasons of Beauty", Shawn. I truly appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Thank you for the feature in the group "The World We See. Svetlana. I truly appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Colette, Thank you again for the feature in the group "Orange -Yellow- Red Photos and Paints". I sincerely appreciate it.
Bruce Bley
Pamela, I want to thank you for the feature in the group "3 A Day Waiting Room ART". Thank you so much.
Bruce Bley
Jay, I really appreciate the feature in the group "Amateur Photographers- 2 Entries Per Day Please". Thank you for the honor and your support of my work.
Bruce Bley
Chuck, I am very grateful for the feature in the group "AAA Images". Thank you for the honor and your support.
Bruce Bley
Jeff, Thank you again for the feature in the group "Pleasing The Eye". I sincerely appreciate it.