Red Sunflower
by Bruce Bley
Title
Red Sunflower
Artist
Bruce Bley
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This photograph of a red sunflower was taken while driving on a country road near my community. I came across a garden that had many unusual colored sunflowers. When the fall comes the seeds of the sunflower will be used for feeding wild 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.
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July 20th, 2014
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Comments (16)
Bruce Bley
Chrisann, Thank you again for the feature in the group "Weekly FUN For ALL Mediums SPRING IS IN THE AIR". Thank you for your support of my work. I truly appreciate it.
Jeannie Rhode Photography
Bruce, Congrats on your featured Image in Flora ! Nice capture of this pretty sunflower with nice details.
Bruce Bley
Mechala, Thank you for the feature in the group "Flowerly Love. I sincerely appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Marinescu, I am very grateful for the feature in the group "Premium FAA Artists". Thank you for the honor.
Bruce Bley
Pamela. I sincerely appreciate the feature in the group "3 A Day Waiting Room ART". Thank you so much.
Bruce Bley
Jens, I am very grateful for the feature in the group "All Natural Scenery Landscapes". I appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Jay thank you for the feature in the group "Amateur Photographers- 2 Entries Per Day Please". I sincerely appreciate it.
Bruce Bley
Julie, I want to thank you for the feature in the group "Natures Way". I sincerely appreciate the honor.
Kimberlee Baxter
Beautiful capture of a red sunflower, Bruce! I love it! Fave! L/F!
Bruce Bley replied:
Thank you for the nice comment, Kimberlee. I am glad you enjoyed this photograph and thank you for the L.