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Flower of the sun - Helianthus

 The choice of the first object for a post is usually a difficult one, but in this case I had no doubt. It is the "flower of the sun", Helianthus (in Greek "helius" means sun, "anthemon" means flower). The bright, large flowers of the annual sunflower (Helianthus annus L.) symbolize sunlight, warmth, peace, and well being. Art with images of the sunflower is full of energy, positivity, and optimism. The other members of the Helianthus genus are also full of the same positivity.

In total, there are 60 species in the Helianthus genus, but only two species are used in agriculture. What's the other one? You may have guessed, it is Helianthus tuberosus L. It belongs to the same genus as the annual sunflower. It has many common names: topinambur, Jerusalem artichoke, earth apples, earth pears, and even sunroot.


Topinambur and the sunflower were introduced to Europe from North America in the early 16th century, from areas of what is now southern Mexico. However, it has a center of origin further north, in central North America. Topinambur, like many other members of the genus, is widespread in the eastern part of the continent from the Great Lakes to Mexico.

Indians used sunflower seeds and topinambur tubers as food, and explorers brought topinambur to Europe as a food plant, while the annual sunflower was used for a long time only as an ornamental plant and in vegetable gardens, planted in single specimens.

In Russia, the annual sunflower came due to Peter the Great, the plant was well introduced and was loved by the people. It was in Russia that it began to grow on large areas. In 1829, peasant Dmitry Bokarev tried to apply to sunflower seeds the oil pressing technology used at that time for flax seeds. The result was impressive and sunflower seeds were used to produce sunflower oil, one of the most valuable vegetable oils. Thus, thanks to the inquisitive mind of Dmitry Bokarev, the entrepreneurial nature of the merchant Papushin, and the progressive views of count Sheremetyev, who authorized the construction of the oil factory, the business became a success. Soon the annual sunflower became an important crop in Russia and then in the world. In memory of this event, the coat of arms of the town of Alekseevka in the Belgorod region, where sunflower oil production was born, represents a golden sunflower.

I wish everyone joy, belief in wonderful things and warmth of heart.

______________________________

Some interesting "background" facts:

- The name "Jerusalem Artichoke" comes from a corruption of the Italian word girasole ("sunflower"), perceived by English-speaking people as "Jerusalem," and the similarity in taste to artichoke;

- Topinambur tubers are recommended as a prebiotic because their reserve polysaccharide is not starch, but inulin, which is not digested in the upper parts of the gastrointestinal tract and serves as "food" for beneficial bacterial symbionts living in the section of the large intestine;

- The giant sunflower (Helianthus giganteus L.) can reach a height of 5 meters;

- A group of Canadian and American researchers compared the genomes of different species in the sunflower genus and showed by phylogenetic analysis that the hexaploid Helianthus tuberosus is descended from the diploid Helianthus giganteus and the tetraploid Helianthus hirsutus (Bock et al. 2014).

 References:

Bock, Dan G., Nolan C. Kane, Daniel P. Ebert, and Loren H. Rieseberg. 2014. ‘Genome Skimming Reveals the Origin of the Jerusalem Artichoke Tuber Crop Species: Neither from Jerusalem nor an Artichoke’. New Phytologist 201 (3): 1021–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12560.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_sunflower



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