Sunflowers picturesAdvanced Photoshop Pictures Contest - 30 image entries
Contest Directions:  When it comes to painting flowers, none of the artists ever achieved the vivacity and intensity of Van Gogh's paintings of sunflowers.
The master himself considered sunflowers his favorite and his biggest achievement in art, saying "You may know that the peony is Jeannin's, the hollyhock belongs to Quost, but the sunflower is mine in a way."
Photoshop sunflowers any way you wish. Some examples are - sunflowers in movies and paintings, merging sunflowers with objects and animals, think "flowerchild", 70s, etc!
[ browse best gallery pictures ] Tags: sunflowers
Jackpot: 1st place: $5, 2nd place: $3 , 3rd place: $2
Started: 2/7/2008 6:00:00 AM, Ended: 2/9/2008 6:05:00 AM
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| | Sunflower (Latin - Helianthus) belongs to plants of composite flower family. Most well known species in this genus of plants is oil-bearing sunflower (Helianthus annuus). This species is grown all around the world and used for manufacturing of sunflower oil. To the same genus belongs is perennial plant like girasol (Helianthus tuberosus), roots of it are used for edible purposes. Some types of sunflowers do exist for purely decorative purposes, for instance acutifoliate sunflower (Helianthus argophyllus).
Oil-bearing sunflower is annual plant, with large stems, grows up to 4-5m, can be simple or
branchy, with one or several heads; single head, some times reaches up to 0.5m in width (usually-15-20cm); outer flowers are yellow and the middle ones are of orange color.
Fruit of sunflower is long quadrangular or flattened achene at sides, and comprises of pericarp (skin or husk) and white seed (kernel). The pericarp of modern sunflower varieties have shielded layer between bast-cell and cork skin, and this layer protects achene from sunflower pickleworms.
History of sunflower:
Native of sunflower is North America. Most probably, North American Indians first cultivated sunflower. There are archaeological proofs of sunflower growing on lands of present Arizona and New Mexico states in 3000 B.C. Some archaeologists say that sunflower was cultivated even before wheat.
Indians used floured seeds of sunflower just as we use wheat flour and squashed sunflower was a favorite meal. There are proofs of sunflower oil manufacturing by Indians. Oil was used in bread making, and even possibly as cosmetics for anointment of skin and hair.
Also, Indians extracted purple dye for sunflower.
To Europe sunflower was brought by Spanish conquerors of America approximately in 1500.
Initially, sunflower plant was used as decorative and some times in medicine.
First, manufacturing of oil from sunflower was pondered by English, an existing English patent from 1716, describes this process. Nevertheless, only in Russia industrial manufacturing of sunflower oil started.
Peter the Great brought sunflower seeds from Holland. Plant initially was used for decorative purposes
Industrial process of sunflower oil manufacturing was established by serf Bokaryov from Alekseevka in 1828. Bokaryov was known to the production of linen and cedar oil and decided to apply the same rules to the production of sunflower oil. Already in 1833, landlord of Alekseevka, Count Sheremetyev, in cooperation with Bokaryov, built first factory for sunflower extraction. Sunflower oil became very popular in Russia mainly due to that it was not prohibited to use during Lent (By the way, second name of sunflower oil is Lent oil). By the middle of XIX, in many regions of Vororonezh and Saratov counties, sunflower occupied 30-40% of total sowing fields.
By the efforts of Russian (Soviet) stock breeders V.S. Pustovoit and L.A.Zhdanova and others it was possible to significantly increase yield of oil in sunflower and its strength to combat with pests. Prestigious award in sunflower cultivation carries name of Pustovoit.
At the end of XXth century, Russian emigrants again brought back sunflower to USA and Canada. Soon, US have become one among the biggest (after Russia) producers of sunflower oil.
Now growing sunflower and manufacturing of sunflower oil is widespread all over the world.
Use of sunflower:
Sunflower oil
Main use of oil-bearing sunflower is extracting sunflower oil, which then used for making food and technical purposes. By hydrogenation of sunflower oil, margarine is extracted. Oil also used in lacquer and soap industries
Waste of sunflower oil manufacturing (oil cake and sunflower cattle cake) is used as nutrient-rich fodder for cattle.
In Russia even before invention of sunflower production, fried seeds of sunflower were used as popular dainties (seeds and seedlings). Even a special sub-type of oil-bearing sunflower-nibbling sunflower with larger oil seeds does exist.
Sunflower seeds contain many vitamins PP and E.
Sunflower is an important honey plant.
Also sunflower is used as decorative plant. |
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