You Are My Sunshine
by Kathy White
Title
You Are My Sunshine
Artist
Kathy White
Medium
Photograph - Photography--greeting Cards Or Notes Are Cheaper By The Dozen!
Description
"You Are My Sunshine" is the title of this photograph I took in the Dallas area of Texas. Sunflowers are so bright and cheerful, it made me think of the song title when I saw the glow of the flower.
The story of sunflower (Helianthus Annuus ) is indeed amazing. The wild sunflower is native to North America but commercialization of the plant took place in Russia. It was only recently that the sunflower plant returned to North America to become a cultivated crop. But it was the American Indian who first domesticated the plant into a single headed plant with a variety of seed colors including black, white, red, and black/white striped.
Sunflower was a common crop among American Indian tribes throughout North America. Evidence suggests that the plant was cultivated by Indians in present-day Arizona and New Mexico about 3000 BC. Some archaeologists suggest that sunflower may have been domesticated before corn.
Sunflower was used in many ways throughout the various Indian tribes. Seed was ground or pounded into flour for cakes, mush or bread. Some tribes mixed the meal with other vegetables such as beans, squash, and corn. The seed was also cracked and eaten for a snack. There are references of squeezing the oil from the seed and using the oil in making bread.
Non-food uses include purple dye for textiles, body painting and other decorations. Parts of the plant were used medicinally ranging from snakebite to other body ointments. The oil of the seed was used on the skin and hair. The dried stalk was used as a building material. The plant and the seeds were widely used in ceremonies.
The native North American sunflower plant has finally come back home after a very circuitous route. It is the Native Americans and the Russians who completed the early plant genetics and the North Americans who put the finishing touches on it in the form of hybridization.
Uploaded
August 20th, 2013
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Viewed 278 Times - Last Visitor from Beverly Hills, CA on 03/05/2024 at 1:39 PM
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Comments (10)
Jeannie Rhode Photography
Kathy, Congratulations on your Feature in WFS ! Nice Title for this Image and very nice colors.
Kathy White
Featured in the group World of Sunflowers by group admin Bruce Bley. Thank you so much Bruce!
Kathy White
Featured in the group Beautiful Flowers by group administrator, Gynt. Thanks so much Gynt for the honor!
Nadine and Bob Johnston
.... Like the subject, technique, composition, and color... Congratulations, Today it was chosen to be Published in the Internet publication ARTISTS NEWS.... Anyone can Just Highlight this link ---- http://bit.ly/RVPlpf - Use Ctl-C to copy and Ctl-V ---- to put it into the Browser Address, to view the publication. You can then, Tweet, FB, and email, etc a copy of the publication, to just anyone you feel would be interested. Happy Promoting! :-)
Kathy White replied:
Thank you so much Nadine and Bob Johnston for the feature of You Are My Sunshine in the group Artist News and also in the Internet publication! It is greatly appreciated!