19 Şubat 2013 Salı

Kansas State Flower

Kansas State Flower

Sunflower (common name)
Helianthus annuus 
(scientific name)

Overview

The sunflower became Kansas’s state flower in 1903 because of the many cultivated and wild sunflowers in the state, and it appears on the state flag. There are more than 60 types of sunflowers, but most varieties are extremely tall, occasionally growing up to 15 feet (4.5 m). Most have thick, rough, hairy stems and arrowhead-shaped leaves. At the top are one or more large flowers with bright yellow petals surrounding a dark brown center. Petals are single ray flowers and do not form seeds. The center is made up of small, tubular disk flowers that grow in two opposing spiral patterns. These are a mixture of male, female, and bisexual flowers that may or may not be fertile. A sunflower head may grow over a foot wide and create as many as a thousand seeds. Sunflowers grow very well in the hot, dry summers typical in Kansas. Most are cultivated in fields, but they also volunteer in fields and along roads.

Close-up

STATUS
Official
PHYSICAL DETAILS
Duration: Annual, perennial
Plant: Arrowhead-shaped leaves with single or multiple flowers on tall stalks
Mature Height: 3–10 feet (1–3 m)
Flowering: July–August
Flowers: 6–12 in (15–30.5 cm) across, multiple pointed ray flowers around a wide circle of disk flowers
Flower Color: Yellow
Leaves: 6–12 in (15–30.5 cm) long, pointed
Fruit/Seed Color: Tan
HABITAT
Location: Open fields and prairies
Range: Throughout the U.S.
TRIVIA
  • Sunflower plants protect themselves by excreting a substance that prevents other plants from growing, so they must be grown far from crops such as pole beans or potatoes. The hulls also kill grass, so if the seeds are allowed to drop grass will not grow in the immediate area until the toxins have had time to biodegrade. Though the sunflower’s chemical protections have a strong effect on other plants, they do not harm people or animals.
  • Sunflower seeds are nutritious and have long been part of the American diet. They are commonly cultivated to make cooking oil.
  • A sunflower’s head is supposed to face towards the sun throughout the day.

Click to enlarge an image
State Flower
Sunflower
State Flower
Field of Sunflowers
State Flower
Close-up of Sunflower
State Flower
Sunflower Seeds

CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom:Plantae
Subkingdom:Tracheobionta
Superdivision:Spermatophyta
Division:Magnoliophyta
Class:Magnoliopsida
Subclass:Asteridae
Order:Asterales
Family:Asteraceae
Subfamily:Helianthoideae
Tribe:Heliantheae
Genus:Helianthus
Species:H. annuus
Author: World Trade Press

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