The Sunflower - Who Knew?

Did you know....

The Sunflower generally grows about 10' but the record breaking sunflower was just short of 30' tall!

Did you know....

The sunflower is considered a phytoremediator, which generally means it has the ability to decontaminate soil and water. They have very deep roots that absorb heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, and uranium from the soil and then stores it in the stems and leaves. This is an eco friendly way to clean up an environment, and was done so in Chernobyl and Fukushima after nuclear disasters. 

Did you know....

Famous Dutch painter, Vincent Van Gogh, did a series of paintings featuring and called Sunflowers.

Did you know.... (this one is particularly peculiar)

The flowers within a sunflower head are clustered in a spiral pattern whereby each floret is oriented towards the next by the golden angle of 137.5°. This produces a pattern of interconnecting spirals. The number of left and right spirals are consecutive Fibonacci numbers. Normally there are 34 spirals in one direction and 55 in the other. Very large sunflowers can have 89 in one direction and 144 in the other.

Did you know....

That bats and sunflowers have a very special relationship in the ecosystem? You can read more about it here: https://retiredgardener.com/products/sunflower-italian-white