Sunflower

Sun flower (Helianthus annuus L.) is one of the flowers from famous type of the Asteraceae , not only it's a beautiful flower it also produces oil. it is usually light orange or yellow with the big flower head (30 centimeter). This flower is a single flower which is formed by hundreds of small flower at the center. The flowers always faces or follow the sun. The French calls it tournesol or the sun follower.   

                             

10 Facts about Sun flower

1. Sunflower is the only flower with flower in its name!
2. “Helianthus” is the scientific name of Sunflower, Helia for sun and Anthus for Flower.
3. Sunflowers are the symbol of faith, loyalty and adoration.
4. They follow the movement of the sun across the sky from east to west, and this process is known as  heliotropism.
5. Sunflower oil was able to soften leather, condition hair, wounds, and also used as cooking oil, medicine paint, animal feed and bio-diesel.
6. Oil of sunflower is rich in minerals like calcium and iron and contains vitamin A and Vitamin D.
7. Sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine, and is the state flower of  Kansas.
8. Sunflowers are one of the fastest growing plants and they grow tall. On an average they grow up to 8-12 feet within six months.
9. The Guinness world record for the tallest sunflower is 25 feet 5 ½ inches, grown by M Heijims in Oirschot, Netherlands in1986.
10. Sunflower with largest flower head is 32 ¼ inches in diameter (measured from the outer tip of the petal on one side to the outer tip of the petal on the opposite side), was grown by Emily Martin in Maple Ridge, British Columbia,  Canada in 1983.

Life Cycle of Sun flower

Phase 1: Seedling

As with most flowers, the first phase of the sunflower’s life cycle is as a seedling. After about 3 days after the seed is planted into soil, it germinates and the case begins to split as the roots shoot out and push down further into the soil.

Phase 2: Shoot

After roughly about a week, a shoot will sprout out of the soil, reaching slowly for the sun. Shortly after the shoot appears, the leaves will begin slowly opening; the steam and leaves will continue to grow larger and wider as time continues.

Phase 3: Bud

As the seedling continues to grow, eventually, a bud will be noticeable. The bud will begin to slowly unfold as the flower head slowly opens.

Phase 4: Bloom

Finally, as the flower head opens fully, the hypnotizing beauty of the sunflower can be appreciated at its prime.

Phase 5: Wilt

After a long season of beauty and life, the flowers petals will start to wilt. Eventually the whole flower will shrivel, where the seeds will then be released and scatter into the depths of nature.

Phase 6: Regrowth

Once the sunflower seed settles in an ideal spot, the sunflower life cycle will start all over again.

My Last Holiday

Last holiday, i went to New Zealand with my big family consist of twelve people. It was Summer, but the temperature was 5 - 24 celcius.

We flew from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur then to Auckland. We stayed in Auckland for 2 days.  in Auckland we went to Hobbiton. it's a place where 'Lord of The Ring' and 'The Hobbit' movie were filmed. 

After 2 days, we flew to South Island. We rented three campervan. My father and my two uncle drove the campervan.  Inside the campervan we can cook, sleep, and pee. We started our roadtrip from Christchurch. We explore the South Island for ten days. It was exhausting yet beautiful experience. We stopped at every McDonald's we can find, because my mother and my two aunts were too lazy to cook a meal. The town in there was so small, it only have 24 people in it. 

We went to Milford Sound, Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki, Mount Cook, etc. I really want to go back there. There's no polution in the air.