Sunflowers In Bloom!

Sunflowers include a large group of flowers belonging to the genus Helianthus. With more than 60 varieties including H. annuus, H. giganteeus and the H. maximiliani, these sun-lovers grow up to 12 feet high. Each plant produces a massive solitary bloom often reaching diameters of 2 feet. Growers harvest seeds from the center of the yellow, orange or black seeds. In nature, this show plant relies on bees and other insects for reproduction.

Once the plant has flowered, usually in summer, it produces a sweet pollen mixture that lures bees and other insects. When the bees arrive, they get their feet wet with the pollen as they drink the plant’s nectar. The plant relies on the sperm-producing pollen coming into contact with the egg-containing stigma. The yellow pollen is transferred from the insect’s hairy legs to the stigma. This is the first step in sunflower reproduction.

Once the pollen is forced down the stigma, it releases sperm into the stigma. An available egg receives the sperm, and the egg is fertilized with a meat-bearing seed. The pollen/sperm can belong to the original plant or may come from another sunflower. Self-Pollinating Self-pollination is a mechanism that this flower uses to stay alive. On the occasion where the stigma receives no pollen, the stigma will twist and wrap itself around its own pollen. Seeds created by self-pollination will only produce flowers that look like the original plant, so no hybridization will have occurred.