The sunflower has such a good name, for it not only looks somewhat like the sun, but it also follows the sun. During a part of its life its tall stalk turns and bends so the flower head faces east in the morning as the sun rises and actually turns, following the sun, until it sets in the west in the evening. Then it turns back and is ready to do the same thing the next day.
Sunflowers grow in many places in the world, but mostly in North America, particularly in the central United States where their bright yellow color adds beauty to thousands of acres of farmland. They are planted in early spring in moist soil, where the seeds promptly sprout.
It doesn’t take long for a flower to appear on the top of its 6-to-10-ft.-high stem with many huge green leaves. The seeds soon fill the center of the big golden head that looks so pretty. A healthy plant will have about a thousand seeds on its crown. It takes most of the summer for the seeds to ripen for picking, and they are tough enough to withstand frost, which helps to dry them.
There are two kinds of sunflowers. The one described above is known as an oil sunflower, with rather small black seeds. These are sold to mills that make vegetable salad oil and margarine from them. After removing the husks, the kernels are heated so the oil can be squeezed out, eventually to be used by bakeries and many other food companies. The oil is also sold in bottles and cans in supermarkets and other food stores.
The other type of sunflower is called non-oil. In many ways both types look alike to anyone driving by, but the main difference is that the seeds of this one are white with black stripes and much larger than the oily seeds.
These are also known as confectionery sunflower seeds, because they are used as a tasty snack or to be sprinkled over salads or added to cookies and other bakery goods. Mothers sometimes put a handful of them (with the shells already off) in lunch boxes for an extra snack at the school lunch room or for their husband’s lunch bag. No doubt most of you already know how good they taste.
One problem farmers have with both kinds of sunflowers is that birds find them very tasty. To protect their crops, sometimes big frightful-looking scarecrows are placed among them, some of which also make scary noises to keep them away. But this remains a real problem, for it’s hard to fool the birds, and the seeds are really tempting.
The way the sunflowers turn to the sun all day long is a nice picture of boys and girls who can say that the Lord God is my sun and shield (as our opening Bible verse states) and always remember that He is shining His love on them. Can you say that?
ML-03/08/1992