Morning Glow is a photograph by Bruce Bley which was uploaded on February 20th, 2014.
Morning Glow
This photograph was taken on a morning walk through my community this past summer. I enjoy taking macro photographs illustrating the detail of the... more
by Bruce Bley
Title
Morning Glow
Artist
Bruce Bley
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This photograph was taken on a morning walk through my community this past summer. I enjoy taking macro photographs illustrating the detail of the subject . The seeds of the sunflower will be used for feeding 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.
Uploaded
February 20th, 2014
More from Bruce Bley
Comments (46)
Carrie Goeringer
You and your images are amazing!
Bruce Bley replied:
Thank you for the nice compliment, Carrie. I enjoy photographing nature and it's beauty. I just show it through my eyes.
Joan-Violet Stretch
This is a stunner a great picture of a sunny sunflower, congrats on your sale
Bruce Bley replied:
Thank you for the kind and gracious compliment, Joan. I sincerely appreciate it.
Bruce Bley
Thank you again for the feature in the group "Macro Photography Group", Neal. I sincerely appreciate your support of my work.
Bruce Bley
Thank you again for the feature in the group "Amazing FAA Photographers", Denyse. I sincerely appreciate it and thank you for your support.
Bruce Bley
Karen, I am very grateful for the feature in the group "HOTEL LOBBY ARTWORKS 1 per day". I really appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Clare, I want to thank you for the feature in the group "Interior Design". I sincerely appreciate the honor and thank you for your support.
Bruce Bley
Thank you for the feature in the group "The World We See", Svetlana. I really appreciate the honor.
Kari Espeland
I absolutely love this photo. Amazing!!!
Bruce Bley replied:
Kari, I am so glad you enjoyed this photograph. Thank you for the nice compliment.
Bruce Bley
I would like to thank the buyer from Bonita Spring, Florida for the purchase of a greeting card. I hope it gives you many years of enjoyment. Thank so much.
Darlene Kwiatkowski
Gorgeous color and glow! fv :)
Bruce Bley replied:
I really appreciate your visit and comment, Darlene. I am glad you enjoyed this photograph and thank you for the v.