Field of Flowers

I had never noticed this field of sunflowers before and driven by several times. So, I’m not sure if its a new field or I’ve just overlooked before. Anyway I turned around and went back to explore the field of flowers. I was not the only one as I encountered three other vehicles all stopping to take photos. We do not know just how large these sunflowers really are until we walk among them. They are beautiful.

And, since you asked: Sunflowers exhibit heliotropism — they follow the Sun’s daily round. Heliotropism most likely helps to increase the development of pollen — once pollinated the sunflower head remains facing east. This daily dance with the Sun results from motor cells in a flexible segment of the stem just below the bud known as the pulvinus. These cells enlarge or shrink according to the turgor pressure of the water against the cell walls. As pressure increases on one side and decreases on the other the stem responds by drooping or stiffening.