Light-enchanted sunflower, thou
Who gazest ever true and tender
On the sun's revolving splendour.

Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are an annual plant native to the Americas that possess a large inflorescence (flowering head). The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads of flowers. The heads consist of 1,000-2,000 individual flowers joined together by 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. Sunflower leaves can be used as cattle feed, while the stems contain a fibre which may be used in paper production.

Quotes

  • Light-enchanted sunflower, thou
    Who gazest ever true and tender
    On the sun's revolving splendour.
  • But one, the lofty follower of the Sun,
    Sad when he sets, shuts up her yellow leaves
    Drooping all night; and, when he warm returns,
    Points her enamoured bosom to his ray.

Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations

Quotes reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 768-69.
  • Ah, Sunflower, weary of time,
    Who countest the steps of the sun;
    Seeking after that sweet golden clime,
    Where the traveller's journey is done;

    Where the youth pined away with desire,
    And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,
    Arise from their graves, and aspire
    Where my Sunflower wishes to go!
  • The Sunflow'r, thinking 'twas for him foul shame
    To nap by daylight, strove t' excuse the blame;
    It was not sleep that made him nod, he said,
    But too great weight and largeness of his head.
  • With zealous step he climbs the upland lawn,
    And bows in homage to the rising dawn;
    Imbibes with eagle eye the golden ray,
    And watches, as it moves, the orb of day.
  • Space for the sunflower, bright with yellow glow,
    To court the sky.
    • Caroline Gilman, To the Ursulines.
  • Eagle of flowers! I see thee stand,
    And on the sun's noon-glory gaze;
    With eye like his, thy lids expand,
    And fringe their disk with golden rays:
    Though fix'd on earth, in darkness rooted there,
    Light is thy element, thy dwelling air,
    Thy prospect heaven.
  • As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets,
    The same look which she turn'd when he rose.
    • Thomas Moore, Believe Me, if all Those Endearing Young Charms.
This article is issued from Wikiquote. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.