Sunny flowers. The flower of the sun in your flower bed - helianthus
In spring, in flower beds, you can increasingly find these flowers, which attract the eye with a bright rich yellowness. They are so elegant that they invariably evoke a feeling of festivity and fun, driving away the remnants of the winter blues.
it doronicum(Doronicum) from the Compositae (Asteraceae) family, a herbaceous rhizomatous perennial. According to various sources, the genus Doronicum includes 30-36 species of plants common in the mountainous regions of Europe and Asia. Doronicums have a slightly branched erect stem, a few leaves with a serrated edge are collected mainly in the rhizome zone in the likeness of a rosette. lower leaves- ovate-cordate on long petioles, upper, on stems with flowers, oblong. The flower is a basket of dazzling yellow color with a diameter of 4 to 12 cm, depending on the species. Along the edge of the basket are reed flowers in one or two rows, in the center - tubular. The height of the peduncle ranges from 15 cm in the eastern doronicum (Gold Dwarf variety) to 140 cm in the plantain.
About 10 species of doronicum are common in culture, but only two species are most common: doronicum orientalis and plantain doronicum.
Doronicum eastern (D. orientale) is an ephemeroid perennial native to the mountain copses of the Caucasus, the Balkans and the Mediterranean. The bead-like horizontal rhizome is densely covered with leaves in the spring, in the first half of May, flower stalks 30-50 cm high with large flowers up to 6-8 cm in diameter develop. Flowering lasts about a month, then the leaves begin to die.
Two varieties are known: Gold Dwarf - early-flowering dwarf plants only 15 cm high and Spring Beauty (Fruhlingspracht) - 40-45 cm high with double inflorescences.
Doronicum plantain (D. plantagineum) has been widely distributed in garden floriculture since the 16th century. It occurs naturally in France, the Pyrenees and even in the south of England. It is distinguished by its large size: height 1 m or more, flowers with a diameter of 10-12 cm (Excelsum variety). The leaves and stems have a slight pubescence, the root is tuberous. It blooms for a month in May-June, after which the leaves die off.
Doronicum heart-shaped (D. pardalianches) comes from Western Europe. It is characterized by the presence of one pair of lower ovate-heart-shaped leaves, collected in a rosette. Plant height - up to 40-70 cm, flowers - 4-6 cm in diameter.
Doronicum Klusi (D. Clusii) is found in the Carpathians and the Alps, along the banks of streams and in wet rocks. It reaches a height of 30-40 cm, the flower is a single basket with a diameter of up to 5-6 cm, convex and slightly hairy. Flowering occurs in July-August.
Doronicum Columna (D. Columnae) has a long tuberous root. Branching stems reach a height of 80 cm, the plant blooms in June, the flowers are 6 cm in diameter.
Doronicum cultivation and care- one of the most unpretentious plants for the garden. It grows well on any soil, however, on sandstones it grows slightly below the usual norm. On loose fertile land grows more luxuriantly and blooms more abundantly. open sun tolerates well, but still feels better in light shading. In close proximity to tree trunks, it feels oppressed and grows much worse.
Due to the creation of moisture reserves in thick rhizomes, doronicum is relatively drought-resistant, but this reduces the flowering time. Therefore, in dry weather during flowering, during the formation and growth of buds, it must be periodically watered abundantly. It is undemanding to additional fertilizers, it is usually enough for him fertile soil. To do this, rotted organic matter is introduced around the bush when digging. If this is not possible, then feed with a solution mineral fertilizers during the active growing season (April-June). After flowering is complete, flower stalks can be cut if no seeds need to be collected.
Doronicum can grow in one place for many years, and yet it is better to divide old bushes after 4-5 years. When digging, the rhizomes are divided and seated in new places. It is most often propagated vegetatively, in spring or autumn, although it is possible even during the flowering period, keeping a large clod of earth on the roots. Doronicum is easily propagated by seeds that are sown in open ground in the beginning of May. When grown in a greenhouse or indoors, seeds are sown for seedlings in April, and transferred to open ground in August, planting seedlings at a distance of 30-50 cm from each other.
Doronicums have good winter hardiness and successfully winter in conditions middle lane Russia. In the presence of snow cover, they do not need additional shelter. In winters with little snow, it will be useful to cover with compost or spruce branches. spring frosts plants tolerate well even in flowering state. The flowers are very decorative and excellent for cutting.
Doronicum looks very nice in compositions with bulbous, in rock gardens and in group plantings with tall perennials. In such groups, it dominates in spring, and in summer and later other flowers grow, covering with their foliage the doronicum that was bare by that time. Single and group plantings of doronicum on lawns create beautiful bright yellow spots in the spring, which noticeably enliven the overall picture. It is one of the most ornamental plants in bloom. spring gardens. But, unfortunately, it is not yet found among amateurs as often as it deserves.
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Hello dear readers!
Today we continue our story about sunflowers. The sunflower is a symbol of the sun, joy and optimism. A small sun that turns its head towards the big sun.
Sunflowers bloom from July to August. When you see a field with sunflowers, it is impossible to pass by such beauty. We also went for a walk with the children and admired the sunflowers.
If you have such an opportunity, go with the children to the field and admire the sunny flowers, tell them riddles and just tell them about this amazing flower. I think that from such a walk you will be charged with optimism and your mood will rise.
- Interesting sunflower facts for kids.
- Sunflower legends.
- What is made from sunflower.
- Riddles for children about sunflowers.
Many people have known this amazing plant since childhood. Both children and adults love to indulge in seeds. Previously, in the evenings in the villages and villages on the benches, people clicked seeds and had conversations.
Children love to eat seeds, delicious halva and kazinaki. Do they know what they are made of, what do they even know about sunflowers.
The people call the flower a sunflower, but correctly - a sunflower.
Name of this amazing plant comes from the Greek words: "sun" and "flower". The huge flower really resembles the sun in miniature.
In fact, the yellow circle is not one flower, but an inflorescence - a basket in which there are many flowers. It is an annual plant with a thick stem and big leaves Green colour. The stem reaches a height of 2 m and above.
Why is the sunflower called sunny flower? Because it is constantly growing and the stem becomes longer on the side that faces the sun. The stem contains the phytohormone auxin, which regulates plant growth. It is located in that part of the stem that is not illuminated by the sun and the plant is forced to reach for the sun.
The sunflower has its own interesting story. Its homeland is North America. The Indians considered it a sacred plant and used it in medical practice for fever, chest pains and treatment of snake bites.
The flower came to Russia under Peter 1, who brought sunflower seeds from Holland. It was cultivated as decorative flower. But later they tried the seeds and began to grow them in vegetable gardens to get a delicious treat.
Sunflower oil was first obtained by the peasant Bochkarev, who invented a press and squeezed an oily liquid from the seeds.
Sunflower legends
According to one of the ancient legends, the gods sent sunflowers to people so that the sun would never leave them. After all, in any weather, his flower is always turned to the sun. The sunflower is considered the flower of the sun, joy, optimism.
One of the legends about the appearance of the sunflower came from Mexico.
Once there lived a little girl named Xochitl, which means "flower". She loved the sun very much and admired it from dawn to dusk. The sun appeared every day and did not hide behind the clouds. For the girl, it was a blessing. But plants without moisture died. A drought set in and people began to die of hunger. The Aztecs prayed to the gods to send them rain.
The girl went to the temple and asked the sun to hide behind the clouds. The girl's prayer reached the sun god Tonetiu. The long-awaited rain poured down. And Xochitl began to fade without the sun. And then a divine voice ordered her to go to the sacred village, where flowers always bloom and the sun shines. And there she will be called Xochitl-Tonatiu - "flower of the sun." So the girl turned into sunny flower, which opens towards the sun and turns its head towards it.
What is made from sunflower
Tell the children that the sunflower is a very useful plant.
Sunflower is grown all over the world. It is used in Food Industry. From its seeds are made sunflower oil, which is rich in vitamin E. You can cook halva and delicious kazinaki from sunflower seeds.
Sunflower is a honey plant.
Sunflower is also used for technical needs, in cosmetology (production paint and varnish products, paper, in soap making, make cream).
How to grow sunflowers ornamental plant making bouquets.
Sunflower is used in medicine, tinctures and tea are prepared from it. The oil is rich in vitamin E and contains unsaturated acids. It is used to treat burns, wounds and other skin diseases.
Seeds, roots and leaves are used in folk medicine for the treatment of bronchitis, headaches, intestinal colic. Decoctions from the roots help with rheumatism and osteochondrosis.
But despite positive traits, seeds in large quantities harmful: can lead to stomach ulcers, inflammation of the appendix, tooth decay.
Sunflower experiments
With children, you can experiment with sunflower seeds, to find out the properties of oil, how oil is obtained from seeds.
Take raw seeds, peel and pass them through a garlic press or simply place them on paper and press. Will remain on paper greasy spots that don't disappear. These are drops of oil.
You can learn from experiments the properties of oil. We take a glass of water and drip sunflower oil with a pipette. What will we see? The oil stays on the surface of the water. We conclude: it does not sink in water, but floats in a large drop, which means that oil is lighter than water.
If you stir a drop of oil, small droplets form. Oil particles are divided. Also, the oil is clear. If you throw coins into a glass of oil, you will see them.
Doing with children, a conclusion about the properties of oil: oil is lighter than water, it is transparent, viscous, fragrant.
Food is fried in oil, vegetable salads are seasoned with it.
In the spring with children, you can try to grow a sunflower in the garden. To do this, take raw seeds and plant them in the ground. Seedlings will appear that need to be looked after, watered, loosened, and weeded. And the plant will grow and delight you with large baskets of black seeds. When they ripen, you can collect and fry the seeds. Or cook delicious halva at home.
Today we told the children about the sunflower, learned what can be done from it. and also read the legend of the sunflower.
I also propose to consolidate knowledge about the sunflower, to make riddles for children.
Sunflower riddles for children
On the winding path
The sun is growing on the leg.
As the sun ripens
There will be a handful of grains.
(Sunflower)
The golden sieve of black houses is full.
How many black houses
So many white people.
(Sunflower)
In the middle of the courtyard is a golden head.
(Sunflower)
I look like the sun
And I love the sun.
I always turn to him
Your head.
(Sunflower)
And finally, our photos with sunflowers. We walked with Yulia and Ksyusha, went to the field with sunflowers.
This is how our conversation turned out today about sunflowers, the flowers of the sun.
Sincerely, Olga.
Novoselova Lyubov
Research project of the section "Wildlife".
At work, the student conducts experiments with seeds cultivated plants, grows a sunflower, observes the growth of a plant, shares the collected information about the plant, offers various options his creative expression.
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MUNICIPAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL SCHOOL №11
PROJECT
FLOWER OF THE SUN
pupils of the 1st "a" class, 6 years old
Novoselova Lyubasha
Teacher: Novoselova
Svetlana Vasilievna
Serov, December 2010
On one of our summer trips, when we were vacationing in Volgodonsk, I saw huge fields of sunflowers and I wanted tolearn about these plants.
I became interested:
- Why is the plant named so?
- When and where did it appear in our country?
- Why is it grown in the fields?
- Is it difficult to grow it?
- What is its use?
- How can you do it yourself?
Hypothesis:
It is likely that the sunflower is an unpretentious plant and brings great benefits to humans, otherwise it would not have been grown in the fields in such quantities.
My research itinerary.
"Sun Grass"or, as it is also called,"Peruvian flower of the sun",brought to Europe by a Spanish expeditionNorth America in the 16th century.
For the first time in Europe, a sunflower bloomed in a flower bed in the Botanical Garden of Madrid. Then the sunflower went to "walk" around the countries and began to decorate the front gardens of the poor. AT Scotland flower saw Peter I , and his journey began already in Russia, where he was loved. It was grown as exotic even near the walls of the Kremlin.
- Why is the plant named so?
"Sunflower", abbr. - "sunflower" (scientifically - helianthus) in Greek means"solar flower"because his head turns towards the sun all the time, whether it is a clear day or an overcast one. The sunflower may well serve as a compass. Golden heads on a long stem, as if locators are looking for the Sun, are constantly reaching for it. It seems that even after the sunset of our luminary, they are waiting for its new sunrise. Sunflower - faithful"satellite of the sun"for this and received its name.
The sunflower's hat turns to follow the sun during daylight hours. I found out that this factscientific rationale. There is a phytohormone in the sunflower stem auxin responsible for growth. That part of the stem that does not receive enough light accumulates in itself auxin , side effect is the movement of the sunflower behind the sun. This movement of a plant following the sun is calledheliotropic property. When the sunflower's growth is complete, the cap no longer follows the sun and remains facing east all the time. Auxin , a plant growth hormone that stimulates cell elongation, accumulates on the side of the plant that is inshadows(in case the lighting is distributed unevenly). As a result of this accumulation, the dark side of the plant grows faster than the sun. Thus, the stem leans towards the sun.
- Is it difficult to grow it?
Sunflower is one of the fastest growing plants.
I have grown several sunflowers in our area.
- First, I put the seeds on wet gauze and the roots appeared in a day.
- Then I planted them in the allotted place in the greenhouse, because it was May and it could get colder.
- Sprouts appeared in the greenhouse and in 2 weeks the height of the plants exceeded 25 cm.
- On June 3, my mother and I planted sunflowers on the site so that we got both a shady house for my games and a beautiful hedge.
- During the summer, my sunflowers grew up to 2 meters in height, the summer was warm, so they ripened.
- In early September, we were happy to crack seeds, and the arriving birds helped us.
Harvesting sunflower seeds on your own is an exciting and meaningful activity, if you add to this the “competition” with birds.
This was my first practical work.
- What is its use?
From the encyclopedia, I learned that
The Indians prepared a kind of concentrate in the form of balls from seeds and used it during long transitions and hunting. In addition, sunflower seeds were used to make flour and baked bread, also obtained from crushed seeds by extraction in boiling water oil . The husks from roasted seeds also found use - they prepared hot dishes from it. drink which tasted like coffee. The plant has been used for fevers and chest pains, as well as as a means from snake bites. From the petals and pollen received purple-violet paint for tattoos and fabrics, hair was lubricated with oil.
It was the Russians who began to eat sunflowers, to get amazing vegetable oil. This discovery for his country and the whole world was made by a simple Voronezh serf named Bokarev.
I decided to experiment and find out if sunflower seeds really contain a large amount of fats and other substances necessary for humans.
1. I took sunflower, pumpkin, zucchini seeds and tried to grind each one on paper.
Only sunflower seeds left a greasy trail.
2. I took and cleaned a tablespoon of seeds, and then chewed them thoroughly, I felt a sweetish taste, which indicates a high content of carbohydrates necessary for a person.
Slides captions:
In the garden by the path The sun stands on a leg. Only yellow rays are not hot in him.
FLOWER OF THE SUN The project was completed by: Novoselova Lyubasha, student of the 1st "a" class of the secondary school No. 11 Head: Novoselova S.V.
On one of our summer trips, when we were vacationing in Volgodonsk, I saw huge fields of sunflowers and I wanted to learn about these plants. TOPIC SELECTION PURPOSE
MY QUESTIONS Why is it called that? How can you do it yourself? When and where did it appear in our country? Is it difficult to grow it? Why is it grown in the fields? What is its use?
Hypothesis: It is likely that the sunflower is an unpretentious plant and brings great benefits to humans, otherwise it would not have been grown in the fields in such quantities.
Then the sunflower went to "walk" around the countries and began to decorate the front gardens of the poor. In Scotland, Peter I saw the flower, and his journey began already in Russia, where he was loved. "Sun grass" or, as it is also called, "Peruvian flower of the sun", was brought to Europe by a Spanish expedition from North America in the 16th century. It was grown as exotic even near the walls of the Kremlin.
"Sunflower", abbr. - "sunflower" (scientifically - helianthus) in Greek means "solar flower", because its head always turns towards the sun, whether it is a clear day or cloudy. The sunflower may well serve as a compass. Golden heads on a long stem, as if locators are looking for the Sun, are constantly reaching for it. It seems that even after the sunset of our luminary, they are waiting for its new sunrise. Sunflower is a faithful "companion of the sun", for which it received its name.
The sunflower's hat turns to follow the sun during daylight hours. I learned that this fact has a scientific basis. The sunflower stem contains the phytohormone auxin, which is responsible for growth. The part of the stem that does not receive enough light accumulates auxin in itself, a side effect is the movement of the sunflower after the sun. This movement of the plant behind the sun is called the heliotropic property. When the sunflower's growth is complete, the cap no longer follows the sun and remains facing east all the time. A sunflower flower is a thousand small flowers, which then turn into a thousand seeds. Auxin, a plant growth hormone that stimulates cell elongation, accumulates on the side of the plant that is in the shade (in case the light is unevenly distributed). As a result of this accumulation, the dark side of the plant grows faster than the sun. Thus, the stem leans towards the sun.
Sunflower is one of the fastest growing plants.
I also grew sunflowers in our area.
The Indians of North America made flour from sunflower seeds, drink from husks, paint from petals and leaves, as well as medicine for snake bites and chest pains, rolled up balls - and took them when they left their homes for a long time, as a food product, they made a kind of oil with which they smeared their hair, worshiped this flower.
It was the Russians who began to eat sunflowers, to get amazing vegetable oil from seeds. This discovery for his country and the whole world was made by a simple Voronezh serf named Bokarev.
AVAILABILITY OF FATS I took sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, zucchini and tried to grind each on paper. Only sunflower seeds left a greasy trail.
AVAILABILITY OF CARBOHYDRATES I took and cleaned a tablespoon of seeds, and then chewed them thoroughly, I felt a sweetish taste, which indicates a high content of carbohydrates necessary for a person.
sunflower TREATS (SEEDS) HONEY PLANT DYE BIOFUEL (HUSK) RUBBER PLANT (RUBBER) FORAGE PLANT (CAKE) ORNAMENTAL PLANT MEDICINAL PLANT
Van Gogh Claude Monet
AND HERE ARE MY DRAWINGS:
SUNFLOWERS WITH YOUR HANDS
It is not difficult to grow a sunflower if you take care of it: water it, tie it up, remove weeds. Sunflower seeds contain a large amount of fats and carbohydrates necessary for humans. This plant is unique in that it is entirely used by man and brings economic benefits. If you dream up, then this flower can be immortalized in your works: drawings and crafts. My conclusions
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
Every year, the flower beds and flower beds of my dacha are decorated with bright flowers-suns. decorative sunflower, my love for which began in childhood. Even a novice grower can grow such pretty plants. But there are still some subtleties of growing and caring for decorative sunflowers, so I will talk about them in this article.
The decorative sunflower differs from the agricultural crop familiar to us not only in the size of bright sunny flowers, but also in the purpose, the main objective which - to create a unique flavor (country) style in the garden.
By the way, for the first time sunflower seeds (Helianthus, from the Greek "helios" - the sun and "anthos" - a flower) were brought from Mexico in 1510 by members of the fourth expedition of Christopher Columbus. Once in Europe, the sunflower has become a universal favorite, causing genuine interest and admiration. For centuries, songs and poems have been composed about him, and his image has been captured in the paintings of famous artists. So, it is the decorative sunflower that is depicted on the famous series of paintings by Vincent van Gogh "Sunflowers".
Vincent Van Gogh. "Sunflowers". Photo from pixabay.com
Thanks to the continuous work of breeders armed with modern methods biotechnology and genetics, more than 150 new varieties and hybrids of ornamental sunflower were created. Every year, new items appear on the market, each of which is a new word in the selection of the species. Already released:
- touching miniature sunflowers capable of simultaneously withstanding several flowers on one stalk;
- charming terry sunflowers with a dense orange-brown core;
- sunflowers that look like marigolds;
- and many ornamental varieties with an extraordinary color - from cream to peach-pink.
Today, sunflowers are grown all over the world: in Europe and Japan, North America, South Africa and Austria. By the way, it was in Austria, not far from Vienna, that the “Sunflower Park” was opened not so long ago, where visitors can see over forty species of wild counterparts, hundreds of modern oilseed varieties, as well as almost all existing today decorative forms sunflower.
The popularity of decorative sunflowers is due not only to the simplicity of their cultivation, but also to the variety of varieties. Depending on taste preferences, you can place dwarfs (from 30 cm) or real giants (up to 5 m), single-stem or branched, small- or large-flowered (from 5 to 20 cm) varieties in your flower bed.
With these bright sunny colors you can decorate unsightly buildings, heaps, old ones and so on.
Ornamental sunflowers should be sown in open sunny areas, sheltered from the wind, with well-drained soil.
Annual decorative sunflowers are propagated by seeds, which, before sowing, need to be soaked for a day in a cloth previously well-soaked with infusion of wood (1 tbsp. Dissolve ash in 500 g warm water). Sowing can be done from the beginning of May and throughout summer period, then you will get a sunflower bed of continuous flowering.
The depth of sowing seeds should not exceed 3 cm, and the optimal distance between plants is 30-70 cm from each other - depending on the variety.
All perennial sunflower species are easily propagated by dividing the bush, which can be produced every two years, late autumn or early spring.
Caring for ornamental sunflowers
Ornamental sunflowers are flexible plants that do not need special care. By ensuring regular, you can maximize their flowering period. Watering should be plentiful enough, but try not to allow water to stagnate in the soil around the stems, otherwise you risk destroying the plant.
In addition to watering ornamental sunflowers experienced gardeners recommend loosening the ground around the plants, as well as removing all weeds. Pruning faded flowers stimulates the formation of new ones.
It is not necessary to fertilize decorative sunflowers: if the soil is fertile, they will grow beautifully, delighting you with their amazing flowers. If you grow them on poor soils, then at the beginning of the growing season, sunflowers must be fed with any fertilizer.
Pests of ornamental sunflower
Among the numerous pests of sunflower, the following are considered especially dangerous for the plant: sunflower moth - its caterpillars damage achenes, as well as sunflower barbel and sunflower thorn, which completely eat away the core of the plant stem.
Also, broomrape is considered one of the most malicious enemies of sunflower - a flowering annual plant that "settles" on the roots of a sunflower and leads to the death of the plant.
Types and varieties of ornamental sunflower
Most types of sunflower annual plants, but there are also perennials among them, the most famous of which is Helianthus tuberosus (tuberous sunflower), or, as it is popularly called, ground pear -.Tuberous sunflower (Helianthus tuberosus)
The name of the species is directly related to the fact that tubers with excellent healing properties are formed on the roots of this sunflower.
Tuberous sunflower plants reach a height of up to 3 m, the stem is slightly leafy, the baskets of golden yellow flowers are quite small - from 2 to 6 cm.
Ten-petal sunflower (Helianthus decapetalus)
Also fairly common perennial species, reaching a height of 1.5 m. The leaves are painted dark green, the inflorescences of the plant can be either double or simple, golden or lemon yellow.
Helianthus decapetalus blooms from mid-August to the first.
"Teddy bear"
Perhaps one of the most famous varieties of annual decorative sunflowers is "Teddy Bear" or "Teddy Bear", which is distinguished by very large (up to 22 cm in diameter) double bright yellow flowers resembling a plush toy.
Plant height, as a rule, does not exceed 1 m, and flowering, which occurs in mid-summer, lasts until autumn.
"Red Sun"
No less interesting is such a variety of decorative sunflower as "Red Sun", with red-brown flowers, reaching a height of up to 2 m.
Sunflower variety "Red Sun"
At good watering long flowering!
Vanilla Ice"
Variety of decorative sunflower "Vanilla Ice" bred by foreign breeders.
Sunflower variety "Vanilla Ice""
The inflorescence is simple, with pale yellow petals and a dark core.
Sunflower variety "Kong"A great solution for creating a decorative fence!
The main thing is not to overdo it, otherwise you will find yourself in the jungle :)
"ProCut Red Lemon BiColor"
Beautiful two-tone sunflower: one half of the petal is painted in light yellow, the other - in dark red.
Sunflower grade "ProCut Red Lemon BiColor"
The heart of the flower is brown-black or yellow.
There are many beautiful varieties of ornamental sunflower, so if you want to grow such a positive miracle in your garden, you can easily find one that will appeal to you.
Flowers yellow colors serve as an undeniable symbol sun. Even in the name of some of them, a connection with the sun is visible: Sunflower. This giant of the flower family is so devoted to the sun that from sunrise to sunset it turns in the direction of the sun's rays. The Greek myth tells how Apollo rejected the love of Clytia, the daughter of the king of Babylon, turning his attention to her sister, Leukothea. The jealousy of Clytia caused the death of Leukothea, and Clytia turned into a flower that always turns its face towards the sun. The Greeks called the sunflower - " clitia" or " kleito"(famous).
The heliotrope got its name (Helios - the Sun and the path - turn) not for its color - its color is lilac - but for the fact that its flowers, like sunflowers, turn towards the light source. And the Greek myth connects this flower with Clitia, but not with the Babylonian princess, but with the nymph, the daughter of the Ocean, who passionately and unrequitedly fell in love with Helios, the god of the sun. The unfortunate nymph could not take her eyes off her beloved and all day longingly turned her head after the luminary moving across the sky. Without water and food, the nymph withered and turned into a heliotrope flower.
Finally, Chrysanthemum (lat. Chrysanthemum, from Greek χρῡσανθής, "golden-colored") - "golden-colored", the flower-sun. The very name of this flower in Japan is "kiku", which means the sun. The sun-like shape of this flower and the cheerful yellow color (in ancient times, chrysanthemums had only this shade) allowed the ancient Japanese to compare the beauty of the flower with the radiance of the sun. Chrysanthemum has become a symbol of the sun, giving life to everything on earth. The Japanese have great respect for this flower, devote a lot of time to its cultivation and hybridization. Sometimes the chrysanthemum is called the "last flower" of the year, because it blooms in autumn, in September. In China, where it comes from, the chrysanthemum is the flower of October and the emblem of autumn.
There is a legend about finding a chrysanthemum. Many centuries ago, an emperor ruled in China, dreaming of immortality, which would allow him to keep power in his hands forever. To this end, the emperor demanded from his doctor to prepare a drug that would make him immortal. And then the doctor said that to make such an elixir, you need flowers growing on distant islands in the east. However, the secret of the power contained in the elixir depended on who picks these wonderful flowers, for the plant will give its miraculous power only to a person with a pure heart. After some thought, the emperor decided to send 300 young men and 300 girls for wonderful flowers, in the hope that among them there would be at least one person with a pure heart.
The doctor, who understood that immortality cannot be obtained with any drug, and the emperor’s temper is insidious and ruthless, upon the arrival of the ships to the islands, remained on them along with the young men and girls. They organized a new state, for whose inhabitants the chrysanthemum became the most beloved flower and symbol of the sun. According to legend, the Japanese people themselves, the Yamato, were born by the sun - a powerful source of light and life, and therefore bears the proud name "people of the sun." Most beautiful girls the Japanese call it "o-kiku-san", equating them both to a delicate chrysanthemum and to the radiance of the sun.
For a long time, the image of a chrysanthemum was considered sacred in Japan, and only the emperor and members of his family had the right to wear clothes made of fabric with a pattern of chrysanthemums. Back in the 12th century, the image of a chrysanthemum appeared on the blade of the mikado that reigned at that time. Later, the chrysanthemum acquired the status of the unofficial state emblem of Japan. Her image is placed on the national flag, coins and the highest Japanese order, which is called the Order of the Chrysanthemum. Ninth day of the ninth month Eastern calendar all of Japan celebrates Kiku-no-sekku (“Chrysanthemum Festival”) (see Flower Festivals)
It is surprising that a flower with such solar symbolism has become a symbol of sorrow and mourning in Europe.
Used materials
- Mythology. Big encyclopedic dictionary;
- Magazine "Flowers".
