Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Followup

 

Do we think sunflowers are smart?  While it's dark, do they turn back toward the next day's sun in anticipation?  The answer seems to be Yes!  And more….  Check out Karen Mulholland's response.

 

 

From: Karen Mulholland
Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2011 10:41 AM
To: Steve Taylor
Subject: Re: I wonder

 

The sunflowers turn back during the night. . .  however this only occurs during the first part of the season. . . as the seeds form, they stay facing east with heads slightly down so the birds cannot eat them. . . if they follow the sun, the birds can sit on them and eat away, but facing slightly down, the birds cannot get to them. . . if too far down, they can sit on the stem and peck away. . . just the right amount of tilt.  We live in sunflower country. . . this county grew 50 million dollars worth of sunflower seed last year. . . (Not culinary seeds but seeds for the guys that grow culinary seeds. . . mainly the midwest like south dakota, kansas etc.)  Very intelligent little suckers!!! 

--- On Sun, 8/14/11, Steve Taylor <spt@thetaylorcompany.net> wrote:


From: Steve Taylor <spt@thetaylorcompany.net>
Subject: I wonder
To: "Bill Taylor (Bill Taylor)" <billt4@earthlink.net>, "David Taylor (David Taylor)" <taylor234@comcast.net>, "Tom Taylor (Tom Taylor)" <code-boy@earthlink.net>
Date: Sunday, August 14, 2011, 8:40 PM

 

I wonder if some things we don't think of as related really are. 

 

…..

 

Have you ever watched a field of sunflowers?  The flower heads turn to follow the sun.  By evening they are all pointed west.  On Saturday morning we went birding and drove past a field of sunflowers before the sun had hit it yet.  All the flower heads were pointed east.  So I wonder: Do sunflowers anticipate?  When the day is done and they're all pointed west, do they remember that the sun is going to come up in the east the next morning, so turn themselves overnight to be ready for it?  Or do they spend the night pointed west, then discover at sunrise the next day that the sun is in the east and they need to turn to meet it?

 

I wonder.

 

 

 

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