“Maximilian Sunflower, Regal and Adored”

Who doesn’t smile at a sunflower? One invited himself into my front garden bed this summer, and I invited him to stay a while. In floral language, sunflower says “my eyes only see you.” Maximilian sunflower was named for Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, a German explorer, ethnologist, and botanist on his travels in the 1800’s. Growth is about 3 feet in height with tall, slender stems and lance-shaped leaves folded down at the mid vein. Flower heads are filled with yellow ray florets, a central brown disc and pointed green phyllaries at the base of the flower head.

The thick rhizomatous root is edible and was used by Indigenous people for food. The flower buds can be cooked and eaten like artichokes, while seed kernels provide phosphorous, potassium and protein. Native Americans used the seeds and butter made from them as an “energy cake.” The sunflower has also been used as a diuretic and expectorant, and was known for antimalarial properties.

A Greek legend tells another story of a maiden, Clytie, who fell in love with the sun god Apollo. “Every time he passed overhead in his fiery sun chariot, she stood in her garden and gazed at him longingly, even though she had chores to attend to. Apollo, who made a point of shining brightly so people on Earth couldn’t actually see him, eventually got fed up with the girl’s foolishness. He flung one of his sun arrows at her, and she turned into a sunflower on the spot. To this day, she faces east in the morning and west in the evenings, following the path of Apollo. In some versions of the story, it was not Apollo but other gods who took pity on her and turned her into a sunflower. In light of this legend, the sunflower’s virtues of faith, loyalty, and adoration make perfect sense.”

Sunflower is accompanied by the Cabbage White butterfly and bees, highlighting the relationship between prairie pollinators and plants.

Original mixed media on raw stretched canvas with maple float frame. **Frame not pictured here as photo was taken prior to framing for the Studio Crawl Preview Exhibit at the Plains Art Museum! Please view this piece there until December.