Detail of the inside of a sunflower, Boulder, Colorado
© Peter Dennen/Aurora Photos
Detail of the inside of a sunflower, Boulder, Colorado
There’s a minor myth about sunflowers that persists to this day: That during the course of the day, a sunflower turns to follow the sun so that the plant’s open petals are always exposed to maximum sunlight. That phenomenon is called ‘heliotropism’ and it is common in many plants. Immature sunflowers do exhibit heliotropism, but by the time the plant is in full bloom, as seen in this photo, that behaviour stops.
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