Talk:Common sunflower

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Heliotropism
The Heliotropism section mentions "The heliotropic motion of the bud is performed by the pulvinus, a flexible segment just below the bud, due to reversible changes in turgor pressure, which occurs without growth". How is turgor pressured changed actively by the plant? Is the citation for the line the same as the citation for the previous sentence? If not, what is the source?

Thank you in advance to whoever holds the knowledge and responds. 冷雾 (talk) 00:38, 28 July 2013 (UTC)

wow
i think that this is a very well done article. It has all the sections clearly labeled and it is easy to read. One small thing would maybe be to have less sections, although I do think that for showing so many different aspects of the sunflower you do a good job of keeping it focused. Overall well done, probably one of the best I have read. I would say try to simplify it a little bit, and are all the pictures relevant to the article? Adrian Arias —Preceding unsigned comment added by Aarias (talk • contribs)

why do sunflowers "want" to follow the sun?
what do they get out of it? is this known? guessed by relevant public work? I myself would even take a clue, here. (thats I really wanna get info on this) Bye and thanks. Pablo2garcia 00:25, 2 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Heliotropic flowers are more prevalent among plants in alpine areas. The absorbed light makes the flowers warmer, which attracts more pollinating insects. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1365-3040.1998.00336.x?cookieSet=1  May be the sunflower's heliotropism is a rudimentary feature from an alpine past? Ceinturion 12:46, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Pizarro?
It says that he cultivated them around 1000 B.C.... but this is impossible because Pizarro didn't even go to the Americas until the 16th century A.D.


 * Although the text did not say Pizarro cultivated sunflowers, the sentence has been rephrased. Ceinturion 12:14, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Other types and species of sunflower
There are many species in the genus Helianthus all of them "sunflowers", they possibly deserve a mention as do the decorative, dwarf and giant varieties that can aparently grow upto 7.76m (25ft 5.5in) tall. Some mention could also be made of sunflower growing competitions or how to grow them. 84.51.146.100 06:19, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

A sunflower is not a weed
I made a comment about this on my Talk page, and I will copy an excerpt here as my source:

Here's a line from the beginning of the Weed article (emphasis mine): "Weeds may be unwanted because they are unsightly, or they limit the growth of other plants by blocking light or using up nutrients from the soil."

I would also agree with the "unsightly" definition to an extent, but you cannot generalize it to "any plants that are unwanted, or haven't been planted by the grower." What if, for example, an acorn is somehow brought onto the property (maybe by an animal)? Is the oak tree that grows from it considered a weed? --Procrastinatrix 18:42, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Yes, in this very general sense, if the oak sprouts in the middle of a person's prize dahlia patch, they may yank it out as a weed.  That's what a weed is, an undesired plant, not in its proper location according to some criterion.  KP Botany 19:42, 11 August 2007 (UTC)

REALLY PEOPLE!!! Look up the definition of WEED in the dictionary! Learn instead of making up meanings of words! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.247.188.156 (talk) 21:16, 1 June 2012 (UTC)

Probably too many images
Wikipedia articles aren't really supposed to be general image gallery pages; ideally, each image should have a specific role in illustrating some fact about sunflowers. AnonMoos 07:22, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

Sunflower
I don't understand this sentence...

"Sunflowers can be processed into a peanut butter alternative, Sunbutter, especially in China, Russia, the United States, the Middle East and Europe."

It seems redundant. It lists pretty much the whole world. maybe it should be rephrased? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lordmichael21 (talk • contribs) 20:14, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

The sentence doesn't make sense because it is grammatically incorrect. (Rikku 16:04, 26 October 2007 (UTC))

Andygusgs should.............
You guys should try to make more pictures of sunflower seeds such as the process of frying it. Tell me when it is posted. Andygusgs (talk) 23:52, 12 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Better you do it yourself Ceinturion (talk) 08:22, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

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Innacurate domestication origin information
In fact, the origin of domestication has been fairly conclusively shown to have happened in the southeastern US. Basically, all domesticated sunflowers (whether from mexico or wherever) are more closely related to wild populations from the US than to wild populations in mexico. This has been shown using allozymes, nuclear, and chloroplast markers. There are only two archeological sites in mexico, plus some ehtnographic data to suggest otherwise, and these could have originated from an early (pre-columbian) introduction from the north.

lots of evidence to back this up:

Burke, John, M., Shunxue Tang, Steven J. Knappb, and Loren H. Rieseberg. 2002. Genetic Analysis of Sunflower Domestication. Genetics, 161: 1257-1267

Abigail V. Harter, Keith A. Gardner1, Daniel Falush2, David L. Lentz3, Robert A. Bye4 & Loren H. Rieseberg. 2004. Origin of extant domesticated sunflowers in eastern North America. Nature, 430: 201-205

Rieseberg, Loren H. and Gerald J. Seiler. 1990. Molecular Evidence and the Origin and Development of the Domesticated Sunflower (Helianthus annum, Asteraceae). Economic Botany 44: 79-91.

Admittedly there is "controversy" in the field about this but the article should at least reflect both perspectives, since the evidence is definitely on the side of one domestication origin in the US.

24.84.193.187 (talk) 14:26, 31 July 2008 (UTC)maayan

Article title
This page needs to be moved to Helianthus annuus or Common sunflower. Sunflower covers a large group of plants and the only vernacular name limited to this species is "Common sunflower". Note this search for a quick overview. . Hardyplants (talk) 07:04, 11 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree, this article should be re-titled. Janeky (talk) 23:36, 24 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Okay, it has now been five years since you proposed this change, and nothing has happened: no one has yet moved the page, and neither has anyone objected to the idea. I am going to assume that Hardyplants knows what he/she is talking about (I am not a botanist, though neither am I completely ignorant of plant taxonomy/ naming) and will be bold and try right now to carry out this move myself.  This is a pretty frequently visited page, and I have never attempted a thing like this before.  But if it needs to be done, then it should be done-- somebody watch my back, here goes bold nothin'!  KDS 4444  Talk  06:35, 28 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Aaaaaaaaand done! Article moved successfully, now just trying to clean up the redirects!  Yay!  KDS 4444  Talk  07:10, 28 June 2014 (UTC)

germination!
Sunflowers take from 10-20 days to start gerrmination to get them too start gerrmination you have to have them in a sunny spot. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.14.133.164 (talk) 20:40, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

"Cultivation and uses"
''Sunflowers may also be used to extract toxic ingredients from soil, such as lead, arsenic and uranium. They were used to remove uranium, cesium-137, and strontium-90 from soil after the Chernobyl disaster (see phytoremediation).''

This doesn't explain why Sunflowers may be used for this purpose? Is it just that they are an abundant organic substance that is found in surroundings at these circumstance and therefore free access (that organic substances have a hygroscopic or "sponging" effect to the high end element or such?). In addition the Cough medicine article says that the sunflower is an expectorant, is this do to a molecule or alkaloid that grows within it or a combination of the elements that form it; or is this a common facet to grass and hay and most other plant life (which I know animals eat for various gastro-intestinal remedies)? 4.242.174.188 (talk) 11:46, 6 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Good point. There is nothing about permission except for the misuse of the word "may."  I have replaced "may also" with "can." — Jay L09 (talk) 15:57, 9 July 2010 (UTC)

The seeds and carnitine content.....
--222.64.215.115 (talk) 05:41, 6 April 2010 (UTC)
 * http://scholar.google.com.hk/scholar?hl=en&q=%22Helianthus+annuus%22+seeds+carnitine&btnG=Search&as_sdt=2000&as_ylo=&as_vis=0

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Heliotropism
The notion that mature sunflower heads track the sun appears to be widespread. I suspect many people come to the WP page to find out if this is true. I think it is relevant to note that this notion is not true. To say that mature sunflowers exhibit no diurnal movement is not strong enough a refutation of this myth, and the use of the word diurnal is unnecessarily obscure, in my opinion.```` — Preceding unsigned comment added by Michaplot (talk • contribs) 09:52, 18 April 2011 (UTC)


 * I was just reading the section and I think it is too strong now in saying it is not true. It says it's not true as an absolute and then goes on to clarify that it is not true for mature plants, but is very much true for immature plants. The plants do track the sun at a certain stage of their life. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.69.182.234 (talk) 11:53, 29 June 2018 (UTC)


 * Maybe you misread the section. It says "a common misconception is that flowering sunflower heads track the Sun". That specifically refers only to the mature plant. The presence of flowering sunflower heads means the sunflower plant is mature, they are the conspicuous yellow 'sunflowers'. In contrast, immature flower buds are inconspicuous, closed and green. Few people notice the immature plant, so there are no common conceptions or misconceptions about the immature plant. Elevant (talk) 17:50, 30 June 2018 (UTC)

Image queue
The following images were in a gallery removed from the page per WP:IG because they're a rather indiscriminate collection of images of the article subject. When the article is expanded, some may be moved back to the article inline with prose. Until then they're queued here. Rkitko (talk) 13:55, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

Page move undone
I've restored the page following an undiscussed move. If the page needs renaming, seek consensus here first. Vsmith (talk) 23:27, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

"Structure" section
I am not sure the new section at the beginning has improved the article. It is an plethora of botany jargon (dicot, radicle, taproot, apical meristem, plumule, xylem, phloem, cortex, pith, calyx, corolla, and perianth). I would think it is not something the general reader of wikipedia would want to read, outside the scope of wikipedia. Ceinturion (talk) 18:26, 5 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Agree. A diagram would be very helpful.冷雾 (talk) 00:42, 28 July 2013 (UTC)

Culture
I think it would be better to remove the entire 'culture' section, which currently is just a bullet list of non-encyclopedic information (tourist information and company logos). Any objections? Ceinturion (talk) 09:48, 3 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Do it, baby! (if you haven't already... Sorry for the drive-by talk page commentary).  KDS 4444  Talk  11:03, 28 June 2014 (UTC)

Article in Need of Revision
This article is full of incorrectly used jargon and some bizarre usages, some of which are not even botanical. Either someone is messing with us, or the article was edited by someone with a poor grasp of botany. The entire structure section should probably be removed or completely rewritten, and the rest of the article rewritten as well. This article used to be better. What happened? Any thoughts?Michaplot (talk) 17:17, 17 April 2014 (UTC)


 * An anonymous user created the structure section on 4 december 2012 (diff), and he shuffled a few sections. I wouldn't mind if those edits were reverted. But I don't know much about botanical jargon. Ceinturion (talk) 20:36, 17 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Michaplot, this is your opportunity to be WP:BOLD and switch the article back to a version you think was the best one! Anonymous users are somewhat famous for doing what Ceinturion describes: executing messy revisions and taking no accountability for them by using an IP address.  The good news is that their work can quickly be undone if someone (you?) will take the time to look at the article's history log and figure out where the good stuff "left off".  Once you have established that, reverting to that version is pretty straightforward, I think (though I do not think I have ever done a revert myself that goes back more than one edit in an article's history...  but that means nothing).  Will you sally forth, good sir?  KDS 4444  Talk  11:02, 28 June 2014 (UTC)

More information on agricultural cultivation and world production areas would be welcome. The map is nice but a description would be desirable. It is for example not clear how the crop is normalised but I guess that maybe a crop of x kg/ha might be an average eg corresponding to a case where 25% of the cultivated soil is used for sunflower giving 4x kg/ha on average for those 25% i.e. x=25%*4x. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 150.227.15.253 (talk) 21:18, 4 July 2014 (UTC)

Requested move

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: page moved. Armbrust The Homunculus 08:12, 5 July 2014 (UTC)

Common sunflower → Helianthus annuus – Botany article on a species, belongs under its own Latin-named article space. Consensus seems to be that this is where it belongs, without controversy. Would move it there myself over the current redirect but there is already an edit history so no can do. KDS 4444 Talk  10:56, 28 June 2014 (UTC)


 * Support The best solution is probably for "sunflower" to redirect to new page "List of plants known as sunflower" (as is the developing norm for such cases, e.g. Nettle redirects to List of plants known as nettle). The genus and all the species should then be at the scientific name. Peter coxhead (talk) 11:35, 28 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Turns out there already is an article on sunflowers, Helianthus, and I have now turned the "Sunflower" page into a redirect to that, which seems be the most consistent and appropriate move. This article on the common sunflower still needs to be relocated to Helianthus annuus, I think.  KDS 4444  Talk  23:56, 28 June 2014 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

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Adding an informative sentence
I plan on adding a sentence to the heliotropism section to include a detail I thought would help others understand how helioptropism works. This is my first time editing a wiki article so I am still not sure what the proper etiquette is for informing others that I am adding onto an article. If it is necessary, the sentence I am going to add is: They are able to regulate their circadian rhythm in response to the blue-light emitted by a light source. Leetif03 (talk) 22:54, 21 April 2018 (UTC)

Used as a food source?
I am curious why so little information is included about all the different ways it is used as a food source. The only thing mentioned is use of seeds but nothing about the other parts of the plant. One can find dozens of videos and many articles on the internet about the use of Sunflower seedlings as microgreens as just one example. There are old wife's tales about the leaves being poisonous but I've been eating them in salad since I was a kid. If they are toxic they sure do take a long time to make you sick as I'm in my sixties. Would it not be appropriate to add a section expounding upon the use of various parts of the plant for food. As far as I know the entire plant is edible. Roots can be cut up and eaten raw as a slaw or boiled to make a tea. The stalk can be cooked in a soup or steamed or pealed and eaten raw and taste a little like celery. The leaves, flower petals, bud all can be eaten raw or cooked. The plant is loaded with nutrients. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 35.142.155.80 (talk) 07:57, 11 April 2020 (UTC)

Addition to the Cultivation Section
I added in a sentence explaining why the ''Helianthus annuus is harmful to the crops which were listed previously. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Finfinbear (talk • contribs) 21:04, 21 October 2021 (UTC)

Requested move 1 March 2022

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion. 

The result of the move request was: Moved to Common sunflower. Seems to be an acceptable compromise. A move discussion from Helianthus to Sunflower may also be a good idea going forward. (closed by non-admin page mover) Sceptre (talk) 01:50, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

Helianthus annuus → Sunflower – Sunflowers are exceedingly too common & well known to have their article be placed under the Latin name rather than the common name. The rationale for moving it here was a supposed "consensus" that all articles on plants must be under the Latin names; this is apparently a consensus of purely botany-interested editors, and not of the community at large, and for relatively obscure plants, that practice seems fine. Sunflower is not one of such plants. For analogy, we have the articles apple, plum, rose, pineapple, and tulip, not Malus domestica, Prunus domestica, Rosa spp., Ananas comosa, and Tulipa. Note: for whatever reason, "sunflower" currently redirects to the article on the genus; I think that page should be left where it is, but sunflower should be the name of this article; we can put a hatnote at the top that says something like "For the genus, which contains some species that are also sometimes called sunflowers, see..." 2600:1702:4960:1DE0:50F6:C1D6:31E7:5B10 (talk) 03:31, 1 March 2022 (UTC)
 * There are a number of different plants called "Sunflower". Common Sunflower would be the name for Helianthus annuus Hardyplants (talk) 03:42, 1 March 2022 (UTC)


 * Support, of course, per common name and most familiar name. English Wikipedia pages are best understood and recognized in English. Randy Kryn (talk) 07:22, 1 March 2022 (UTC)
 * "Sunflower" by itself preferable to "common sunflower" per decision at "Chimpanzee" as compared with "Common chimpanzee". Randy Kryn (talk) 10:53, 7 March 2022 (UTC)
 * not sure this is comparable, as the other member of Pan also has a well known common name, the bonobo. For sunflowers there are many member of the genus Helianthus with common names ' sunflower'. YorkshireExpat (talk) 18:53, 7 March 2022 (UTC)
 * Would Sunflower work better as the title of Helianthus? Randy Kryn (talk) 01:36, 8 March 2022 (UTC)
 * I think so, yes. YorkshireExpat (talk) 18:18, 8 March 2022 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
 * Oppose, per . A rename of Common sunflower might be more appropriate, but not entirely sure I'm convinced of that. YorkshireExpat (talk) 18:52, 1 March 2022 (UTC)
 * Support per WP:COMMONNAME. "Sunflower" is the most common name. The lead can point out that it is sometimes referred to as the "common sunflower" to distinguish it from other members of the genus, just as many other organism articles do. Rreagan007 (talk) 19:07, 4 March 2022 (UTC)
 * Move to Common sunflower. Showiecz (talk) 04:08, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Greek mythology?
There is a widespread myth about sunflowers related to Greek mythology. One version says Clytie was a water nymph, and deeply in love with the sun god Helios. Sadly, he left her for another goddess, and it's said that Clytie watched Helios crossing the sky in his golden chariot for days, without any food or water. Eventually, she was transformed into a sunflower, and it’s said this is why sunflowers always face the sun.

However, since the sunflower is assumed to have come to Europe only in the 16th century, there is something that doesn't make sense here. Could somebody do some research on this? Maybe sunflower is confused with turnsole? Joreberg (talk) 08:35, 13 April 2022 (UTC)

Style problem
Hey @Larizdibartolo, the edit you did today has a style problem. What you wrote is worded like advice and Wikipedia's style guidelines say not to do that. See WP:NOTGUIDE. Also what you added about disposal does not have a reference. Do you have one? 🌿MtBotany (talk) 16:07, 28 November 2023 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2024
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