Interesting Facts About Sunflower

• The scientific name of sunflowers is Helianthus, Helia for sun and Anthus for flower.

• Sunflowers are a great choice for planting to attract birds to your yard.

• Sunflowers are one of the fastest growing plants. They can grow 8 to 12 feet tall in rich soil within six months.

• Do you know what country grew the tallest sunflower? The Netherlands (25' 5.5" tall) grown in 1986 by M. Heijmf.

• It require only 90 to 100 days from planting to maturity.

• The former Soviet Union grows the most sunflowers. The sunflower is the national flower of Russia.

• The sunflower is native to North America and was used by the Indians for food and oil. Some farmers use it to feed their livestock.

• We use sunflower seeds to make oil, bird seed and for snacking. They have lots of calcium and 11 other important minerals. They do have 50% fat, BUT it is mostly polyunsaturated linoleic acid.

• Wild sunflower is highly branched with small heads and small seeds, in contrast to the single-stem and large seed head of domesticated sunflower.

• Sunflower heads consist of 1,000 to 2,000 individual flowers joined together by a receptacle base. The large petals around the edge of a sunflower head are individual ray flowers which do not develop into seed.
  

• A well-known sunflower characteristic is that the flowering heads track the sun's movement, a phenomenon known as heliotropism.

• The daily orientation of the flower to the sun is a direct result of differential growth of the stem. A plant-growth regulator, or auxin, accumulates on the shaded side of a plant when conditions of unequal light prevail. Because of this accumulation, the darker side grows faster than the sunlit side. Thus, the stem bends toward the sun.

• Sunflower seeds are rich in oil, which they store as a source of energy and food. Sunflower seeds are crushed to give us oil. We can use sunflower oil for cooking.

• Sunflower plants can be from 3 to 18 feet tall.

• One sunflower can have up to 2000 seeds.

• There are more than sixty different kinds of sunflowers in the U.S.

• Sunflowers originally came from the U.S.

• There are two kinds of sunflower seeds- black and stripe

• Oil is made from black seeds.

• Snacks are made from striped seeds

• Sunflower seeds are also used to feed birds.

• Sunflowers are the state flower for Kansas.

• There is only one flower on each sunflower stem.

• Sunflowers are very beautiful flowers and are used for decoration.Sunflower plants can be from 3 to 18 feet tall. One sunflower can have up to 2000 seeds.

• Sunflowers are also an important crop. There are more than sixty different kinds of sunflowers growing in the United States, Europe, Japan and Russia. Sunflowers originally came from the United States.

• There are two kinds of sunflower seeds. Oil is made from black seeds and snacks are made from striped seeds. Sunflower seeds are also used to feed birds.

Interesting Facts About Jasmine

• Jasmine flower and the essential oil extracted from the flower are being used extensively in cosmetics and perfumery, and as a calmative (relaxing properties, sedative) and aphrodisiac (intensifies sexual desire).

• Jasmine is a very popular flower around the world, especially in tropics because of its unique fragrance. The Jasmine is native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the old world.

• Jasmine flowers are white in most species, with some species being yellow flowered. Jasmine is believed to have originated in the Himalayas in western China.

• Unlike most genera in the Oleceae family, which have four corolla lobes petals, Jasmines often have five or six lobes. Jasmines are often strongly and sweetly scented. Jasmine is widely cultivated for its shining leaves and beautiful clusters of fragrant flowers.

• Flowering in Jasmines takes place in summer or spring, usally six months after planting. The Jasmine flower releases its fragrance at night after the sun has set and especially when the moon is waxing towards fullness. Jasmine flower buds are more fragrant than the flowers.

• There exists a true Jasmine and a false Jasmine, and the two are commonly mistaken for each other because of the fragrance the plants release. The true Jsmine belongs to the family Oleaceae, is primarily a bushy shrub or climbing vine, and is non-poisonous.

• True Jasmine has oval, shiny leaves and tubular, waxy-white flowers. The false Jasmine, on the other hand, is in a completely different genus, Gelsemium, and family, Loganiaceae, is considered too poisonous for human consumption.

• Jasmine shrubs reache to a height of 10-15 feet, growing approximately 12-24 inches per year.

• Jasmine leaves are either evergreen or deciduous.

• A Jasmine leaf is arranged in opposite in most species, leaf shape is simple, trifoliate or pinnate with 5-9 leaflets, each up to two and half inches long.

• The Jasmine stems are slender, trailing, green, glaborous, angled, almost 4-sided.

• Most of the Jasmine species bear white flowers, which are about 1 inch in size.

• Jasmine oil, which is a very popular fragrant oil, contains benzyl acetate, terpinol, jasmone, benzyl benzoate, linalool, several alcohols, and other compounds.

• The variety Jasminium sambac, is a clustered flower of a equally strong scent known in Hawaii as the Pikake.

• Two types of Jasmine are used for oil production - Jasminum grandiflorum and Jasminum officinale.

• The nectar of the fragrant flowers of Carolina Jasmine, Gelsemium sempervirens, is poisonous, although its dried roots are used in medicinal preparations as a sedative.

• Jasmine flower oil, extracted from the two species Jasminum Officinale and Grandiflorum, is used in high-grade perfumes and cosmetics, such as creams, oils, soaps, and shampoos.

• Jasmine is known in India as the "Queen of the Night" because of it's intoxicating perfume that is released at night.

• In China ,Jasmine is used a symbol of feminine sweetness and beauty. Jasmine also symbolize deep affection, happiness and elegance. This is why it is used in wedding toss.

• Jasmine has been used for healing the female reproductive system. In Ayurvedic medicine jasmine is used to calm the nerves, sooth emotional problems, help with PMS and tension headaches. Because Jasmine has antispasmodic properties it can help relax the uterine cramps and pain during childbirth.

• In Chinese medicine Jasmine flowers are known to "cool" the blood and have a strong antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-tumor properties. Because they cool the blood they help with reducing a fever or cooling an overheated person (from the sun) .

• Jasmine has astringent properties which aids in treating inflamed eyes and skin, and as a gargle to relieve sore throats and mouth ulcers. Jasmine is used in aromatherapy to calm the emotions, and as an aphrodisiac. It is a valuable remedy in cases of depression because is produces a feeling of confidence , optimism and euphoria. It revitalizes and restores the balance of energy.

• Jasmine is used in teas, herbal bathes, skin creams, soaps and potpourri. It is also used as a decorative touch to special dishes.