SUNFLOWER… THE MOST POSITIVE FLOWER EVER!

 “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It’s what the sunflowers do”.

Helen Keller

Sunflowers are the brightest and most optimistic flowers in the world. They follow the sunshine all the time thus symbolizing joy and hopefulness. The amazing beauty of sunflowers has been glorified by poets and embodied in the paintings of many famous artists. These charming flowers inspired the world-known artist Van Gough to create 2 series of paintings devoted to sunflowers.

Common sunflower, or Helianthus annuus, is a perennial plant that belongs to the Asteraceae family. There are about 60 types of sunflowers all over the world. It is believed that sunflowers are native to Mexico and Peru. The plant is wiry and tall (about 300 cm). The stem is uneven, hairy and branched in the upper half of the plant. The leaves are  oval or heart-shaped and crenelated. As a rule, they are oppositely arranged on the stem. The flower head is big and showy, it is usually composed of numerous little flowers. There are yellow ray florets at the outside part of the flower and brown or dark yellow disc florets inside.

Parts Used: leaves, petals, seeds, roots.

Interesting Sunflower Facts

• Sunflowers turn their heads in the direction of the sun. Scientists refer this phenomenon as heliotropism.
• Sunflower is national flower of Ukraine and Russia. Moreover, it’s a state flower of Kansas.
• There are two varieties of sunflower seeds: striped and black. In fact, sunflower oil is produced from black seeds, and striped seeds are used mainly as snacks.
• The sunflower plant has the ability to absorb toxins and heavy metals from the ground. They were used to decrease the level of nuclear pollution in Fukushima and Chernobyl.
• Sunflowers were brought to Russia by the Tsar Peter the Great.
• Sunflower oil is one of the most popular oils in the world.
• The name helianthus derives from the Greek words helios (which means “sun”) and anthos (which means “flower”).

Key Components

• Vitamin E
• Vitamins B1, B3, B6
• Folate
• Phytosterols
• Fats
• Protein
• Copper
• Magnesium
• Phosphorus
• Manganese
• Potassium
• Selenium

Uses

• Raw and roasted seeds
• Oil
• Wine (it is produced from the petals)
• Tinctures and extracts

Sunflower Seed Cookies

What you need:

• 1 cup of roasted and salted sunflower seeds
• 1 cup of softened butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 cup of white sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 2 cups of flour
• 2 cups of rolled oats
• Raisins, pumpkin seeds or any other optional ingredients

Preheat your oven to about 175 degrees C. Mix the white and brown sugar together with butter and whisk the mixture. Then add the eggs and vanilla and stir the mixture. After that lump together the baking soda, baking powder, some flour and add to the blended mixture stirring all the time, you can also add the desired optional ingredients. Drop the dough onto the ungreased baking tray forming cookies. Bake for about 10-12 minutes until the cookies become brownish. Enjoy this delicacy with tea, coffee or milk!

And here are some useful pieces of advice from a sunflower:

Be bright and cheery,

Be big and bold,

Be strong and resilient,

Know your roots and

Be hard to miss in a room!