As we head into Halloween weekend, autumn is fresh on our minds. And what flower makes you think of autumn? Most people would say the sunflower. With its yellows and browns, sunflowers are representative of typical autumn colors and their seeds are a great autumn snack, making them a staple at this time of year.
However, most people do not realize that a single sunflower is actually composed of many tiny flowers. These tiny flowers come together to form one larger false flower to attract pollinators. Each of the little dots on the sunflower head as well as each individual petal is a flower of its own. So, next time you see a sunflower, look at it closer to see these thousands of miniscule flowers.
Something more familiar to everyone, however, is the way that sunflowers turn towards the sun, a property called heliotropism. This movement is due to the fact that sunflowers are shown to have circadian rhythms, similar to us. Although, this movement is only found in young sunflowers. Older sunflowers remain facing east.
I hope you learned something new about this beautiful flower today. If you wish to purchase sunflowers this fall, simply click on the shop tab to view numerous arrangements featuring sunflowers, including Fifty Shades of Fall and Walking on Sunshine!
