Sunbathing #4
by Bruce Bley
Title
Sunbathing #4
Artist
Bruce Bley
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This photograph was taken on a morning walk through my community. I enjoy taking macro photographs illustrating the detail of the subject I am photographing. 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.[5][6][7] This pattern produces the most efficient packing of seeds within the flower head.[8][9][10]
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).[11] 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.
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August 1st, 2013
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Viewed 2,441 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/19/2024 at 3:56 AM
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Comments (43)
Bruce Bley
Mahir, I am very grateful for the feature in the group "Beauty Of Photography". Thank you so much.
Bruce Bley
Bob and Nadine. I appreciate the feature in the group "Artist News". Thank you for the honor.
Bruce Bley
Jean, I want to thank you for the feature in the group "Greeting Cards For All Occasions". I truly appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Darren, Thank you for the feature in the group "Flower Art 3 A Day". I sincerely appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Judy, I am very grateful for the feature in the group "USA Photographers ONLY". I sincerely appreciate it.
Bruce Bley
Martin, Thank you so much for the feature in the group "Flower Mania". I sincerely appreciate it.
Bruce Bley
Beth, Thank you for the feature in the group "The Most Beautiful Flowers Photography Only". I truly appreciate it.
Bruce Bley
Kim, I want to thank you for the feature in the group "Floral Photography And Art". I sincerely appreciate the honor.
Connie Handscomb
This is an interesting angle for this wonderful sunny yellow solar disk ; really shows of the layers upon layers of the plant; terrific detail :)))
Lingfai Leung
Beautiful capture. Nominating in 1000 Views "Special Feature Promotion"
Bruce Bley replied:
Lingfai, Thank you for the nomination in 1000 views "Special Feature Promotion". I sincerely appreciate it.
Bruce Bley
Tracy, I want to thank you for the feature in the group "self-taught artists Your Own". I truly appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Bob and Nadine, Thank you again for the feature in the group "ALL SEASONS Landscapes". I truly appreciate it.
Bruce Bley
Bob and Nadine. I sincerely appreciate the feature in the group "The Galleria of Interior Design - GIDA". Thank you so much.
Feile Case
Nice composition Bruce. I like the flowers' movement and texture at this angle. I can almost smell this wonderful sunflower~ I like your work.
Bruce Bley replied:
Feile, I am glad you enjoyed this photograph. I really appreciate your comment and I am so happy you enjoy my work. Thank you for visiting.
Bruce Bley
Thank you for the kind and gracious compliment, Rosanne. I sincerely appreciate it amd thank you for your vote.
Bruce Bley
Thank you for your continued support of my work and the feature in the group "Nature and Landscape", Charlie.