Here Comes the Sun Little Darlin...
As spring takes hold and the days get warmer and longer, let's stop to appreciate the genius of one of our most beautiful and symbolic plants.
The sunflower is now grown commercially in Eastern Europe more than it is grown in North America where it was first domesticated some 5000 years ago. Revered by several indigenous peoples from Tennesee to Peru, sunflowers have most recently represented the first Vegan Society as well as the movement for nuclear disarmament. Today, they are a global symbol of green ideology.
Baby sunflower heads rise facing the east and follow the sun westward across the sky, soaking up as much heat and light as possible. Once they have opened and matured, they stop this tracking and permanently face east so they can warm up quickly in the morning.
Sunflower are more than symbols, they can rehabilitate the soil and water of broken ecosystems. They are among plants called hyperaccumulators. This kind of plant is able to grow in soils or water with a high concentration of metals. They absorb these heavy metals through their roots and then store them in their tissue. Using plants to remove contaminants is called phytoremediation- as in plant remedy.
In the 90s, DaimlerChrysler planted fields of sunflowers at an abandoned manufacturing site in Detroit. Within one growing season, 5750 cubic yards of lead contaminated soil was reduced to a few yards of lead-contaminated plant material that was then hauled off to a special landfill. (1) Sunflowers have been grown in Hiroshima and Chernobyl. After the disaster at Fukushima, over 8 million sunflowers were planted to try and remove toxins in the soil as far as 60 miles from the site of the defunct nuclear power plant. (2)
This field of study is relatively new, but it is gaining traction as more companies invest in phytotechnologies. Different species of plants have the ability to absorb different metals and contaminants. “There are sunflowers that capture uranium, ferns that thrive on arsenic, alpine herbs that hoard zinc, mustards that lap up lead, clovers that eat oil and poplar trees that destroy dry-cleaning solvents.” (3)
While green technology can be controversial for several reasons, we hope that science continues to learn how to use and respect the power of plants.
Have a lovely spring!
-Sara & Cesar
Below is our new sunflower ring. We love the mathematical arrangement of the central flowers. Check it out at this link, Sunflower Ring, and use the code Spring21 to receive a $50 discount on your order. (Offer ends May 1st)
