Archive for March 8th, 2009
Pictures of Flowers Sunflower Plant Pictures and Sunflower Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Sunflower Plant Pictures and Sunflower Plant Kind
Sunflower is an annual plant native to America, which is famous for its large showy flowers. The genus has more than 60-70 species. Most common species grows from 3 to 10 feet height. Each flowerhead consists of a disk of small, tubular flowers surrounded by a fringe of large yellow petals. Each flowerhead can measure up to 1 foot in diameter and contain about 1000 seeds. The head turns and faces toward the sun throughout the day. Seeds are actually the fruits ? achene ? of the sunflower plant.
Sunflowers need full sun and grow best in fertile, moist and well-drained soils. For commercial plantings, the seeds are planted 1.5 feet apart and 1 inch deep. Sunflower seeds are rich in protein and used extensively in making vegetable oil. Whole seeds of sunflower are sold as snack food, which are used in roasted form with or without salt. Sunflowers are also used as an alternative to peanut butter. Sunbutter is a favorite product in China, Russia, the Middle East, the United States and Europe. In Germany, sunflower is used as sunflower whole seed bread by mixing it with rye flour. Sunflower oil is used extensively all over the world as vegetable oil and in making margarine and biodiesel.
Pictures of Flowers Sunflower Plant Pictures and Sunflower Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Sunflower Plant Pictures and Sunflower Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Sunflower Plant Pictures and Sunflower Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Sunflower Plant Pictures and Sunflower Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Sunflower Plant Pictures and Sunflower Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Sunflower Plant Pictures and Sunflower Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Sunflower Plant Pictures and Sunflower Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Sunflower Plant Pictures and Sunflower Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Strawflower Plant Pictures and Strawflower Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Strawflower Plant Pictures and Strawflower Plant Kind
Strawflower is a tall herb consisting of about 600 species of flowering plants in the sunflower family. The plants are native to South Africa, Madagascar, Eurasia and Australasia. The plants can be annuals, herbaceous perennials or shrubs, which grow to a height of 60-90 cm. Leaves, are oblong and flat. Base of the flowerhead is smooth or honeycombed and resembles daisies. Flowers come in almost all the colors except blue.
Many species are grown as ornamental plants and as dried flowers. Open flowers and stalks can preserve their color and shape for longer periods if the flowers are cut when young and then dried. An essential oil with a yellow or reddish tint is produced from the strawflower plants. All over the world, dried flowers are used in winter bouquets. Some of the species of the plants have everlasting flowers, which last for long periods in dried forms. Many new species of strawflowers have been identified, which have natural habitats in rocky areas.
Pictures of Flowers Strawflower Plant Pictures and Strawflower Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Strawflower Plant Pictures and Strawflower Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Static Electricity Plant Pictures and Static Electricity Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Static Electricity Plant Pictures and Static Electricity Plant Kind
Static Electricity is a name commonly applied to Statice or Sea Lavender species of flowers that have wide distribution in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia and North America. The plant has about 120 species, out of which, about 100 species are native to the area stretching from Canary Islands east through Mediterranean region to central Asia. The plants are herbaceous perennials that grow 10-70 cm tall from a rhizome. Few of the species are woody shrubs up to 2 meters tall. Several species of static electricity plants flourish in saline soils in the coastal areas.
Leaves of static electricity plants are broad and entire or lobed, which are produced in a dense basal rosette. Flowering stems bear only small brown bracts. Flowers are pink, violet or purple in most of the species while yellow or white flowers grow in some species. Fruit is a small capsule containing one seed. The plant is popular as garden plant due to its showy flowers and beautiful appearance of calyx. Calyx remains even after the true flowers have fallen and thus the plants are often known as ‘everlasting flowers’
Pictures of Flowers Star of Bethlehem Plant Pictures and Star of Bethlehem Plant Kind
Pictures of Flowers Star of Bethlehem Plant Pictures and Star of Bethlehem Plant Kind
Star of Bethlehem is a genus of small and hardy perennial plants native to Southern Europe and South Africa. The plant grows from bulbs and has grass-like basal leaves and a slender stalk up to 30 cm tall. Star of Bethlehem bears large clusters of star-shaped white flowers with green stripes. Due to its star shaped flowers and its appearance in the Biblical Account of the birth of Jesus, the plant has been named as ‘Star of Bethlehem’.
Some of the species of Star of Bethlehem plants are poisonous to grazing animals and have also been reported to kill cattle and livestock. Few of the species are edible and can be used as vegetables. The plant was first developed in Italy and now it has become a common sight in the gardens of North America. Many people grow Star of Bethlehem in gardens, greenhouses and window boxes. Flowers bloom during the months of May and June. Bulbs of the flowers contain alkaloids, which are toxic.
Pictures of Flowers Star of Bethlehem Plant Pictures and Star of Bethlehem Plant Kind
