Botany on the Byways: Sunflowers

The end of summer is approaching, but it would not have felt right without a botany post about sunflowers! Sunflowers are an iconic symbol of summer and there are a lot of varieties that you can see in Iowa. In 2021, Golden Hills partnered with Dr. Tom Rosburg to offer a sunflower identification class. The virtual class is available on our YouTube channel.

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Sunflowers – Symbols of Summer
​by Cindy Haynes and Ann Marie VanDerZanden, Iowa State Department of Horticulture

Sunflowers are one of our iconic symbols of summer.  Their bright yellow flowers resemble the sun, hence their common name.  The scientific name (Helianthus) comes from Helios meaning “sun” and anthos meaning “flower”.  Sunflowers also get their name from the plant’s ability to follow or track the sun, a phenomenon known as heliotropism.

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