Sunflower Ring - Silver Seasons

The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large flowering head, and its name is derived from the flower's shape and image, which is often used to capture the sun. The plant has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves, and circular flower heads. The heads consist of many individual flowers which mature into seeds, often in the hundreds, on a receptacle base. From the Americas, sunflower seeds were brought to Europe in the 16th century, where, along with sunflower oil, they became a widespread cooking ingredient. In the 1880s, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh started a series of sunflower paintings which have now become famous icons and are one of the most instantly recognizable painting of our time.