Basking in the Sun #5 is a photograph by Bruce Bley which was uploaded on July 26th, 2013.
Basking in the Sun #5
This photograph of a sunflower was taken while visiting a neighbors garden yesterday. I hope you have enjoyed this photograph and will share it with... more
by Bruce Bley
Title
Basking in the Sun #5
Artist
Bruce Bley
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This photograph of a sunflower was taken while visiting a neighbors garden yesterday. 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 annuss) 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 (512 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.
Uploaded
July 26th, 2013
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Comments (25)
Bruce Bley
Chrisann, Thank you so much for the feature in the group Weekly FUN For ALL Medium". I very much appreciate it.
Kym Backland
What a GORGEOUS sunflower photo Bruce! Love the angle and the warm sunshine on her! I like the kind of leaves or petals this one has.. they are wild and wispy. I should know more about sunflowers since I feed them to all my birds.. FV
Bruce Bley replied:
Thank you for the kind and gracious comment and vote, Kym. Sunflowers tend to make me happy. I think it is their colors. textures, and the fact that they attract birds.
Bruce Bley
Thank you so much for the feature in the group " Comfortable Art - LIMIT 2 per day", Jim. I truly appreciate it and I hope all is going well for you. Thank you for your work promoting our artwork.
Bruce Bley
Ruth, Thank you so much for the feature in the group "A PLACE FOR ALL - limit 1 - per day. I sincerely appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Teresa, Thank you for the feature in the group "In Gods Eyes". I sincerely appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Joe, I really appreciate the feature in the group "Excellent Self Taught Artists". Thank you so much.
Bruce Bley
Gynt, I want to thank you for the feature in the group "Greetings and Posters". I sincerely appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Klaas, Thank you for the feature in the group "Small showroom". I sincerely appreciate the honor.