The Unbelievable History of Sunflowers

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  • Опубліковано 22 чер 2022
  • In this video, we look at the remarkable journey sunflowers have been on throughout their long history.
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    Sources
    [1] Pappalardo, Joe. "Sunflowers: The Secret History." Overlook Press, 2008.
    [2] Heiser, Charles B. “The Sunflower among the North American Indians.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 95, no. 4, 1951, pp. 432-48. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3143283.
    [3] Lentz, David L., et al. “Sunflower (Helianthus Annuus L.) as a Pre-Columbian Domesticate in Mexico.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 105, no. 17, 2008, pp. 6232-37. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25461773.
    [4] Smith BD. "Eastern North America as an Independent Center of Plant Domestication." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Aug 15;103(33):12223-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0604335103. Epub 2006 Aug 7.
    [5] Blackman BK, et al. "Sunflower Domestication Alleles Support Single Domestication Center in Eastern North America." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Aug 23;108(34):14360-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1104853108. Epub 2011 Aug 15.
    [6] Park B, Burke JM. "Phylogeography and the Evolutionary History of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.): Wild Diversity and the Dynamics of Domestication." Genes (Basel). 2020 Feb 29;11(3):266. doi: 10.3390/genes11030266.
    [7] Putnam, D.H. et al. "Sunflower." Alternative Field Crops Manual, Purdue University.
    www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/a...
    [8] Sahagún, Monographs of the School of American Research and the Museum of New Mexico. Book 9: The merchants. Florentine Codex. General History of the Things of New SpainCE Dibble, AJO Anderson (School of American Research and the University of Utah, Sante Fe, 1959 [1569], No 14, Part X.
    [9] Kiple, Kenneth F., and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas, editors. "Cambridge World History of Food, Volume 1." Cambridge University Press, 2000.
    [10] Cumo, Christopher. "Sunflower." Encyclopedia of Cultivated Plants: From Acacia to Zinnia. ebrary.net/28124/environment/...
    [11] Gerard, John and Thomas Johnson. "The Generall Historie of Plantes." The Ex-Classics Website. CHAP. 259. www.exclassics.com/herbal/her...
    [12] "Sunflower Plant" Encyclopedia Britannica. www.britannica.com/plant/sunf...
    [13] "Jerusalem Artichoke" Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusal...
    [14] How old is the sunflower in Mexico? Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Jul 29;105(30):E48; author reply E49-50. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0804588105. Epub 2008 Jul 21.
    [15] Guinness Book of World Records. "Tallest Sunflower." GuinessWorldRecords.com www.guinnessworldrecords.com/...
    Picture Attributions:
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    By shirleybolling2005 - Flickr: D40 726, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
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    By torange.biz - torange.biz/photo/32/HD/sunfl... on torange.biz/crude-sunflower-o..., CC BY 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
    By Bundesarchiv, Bild 137-037542 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
    By cattan2011 - Sunflowers farm, CC BY 2.0, Changes made commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
    By Navaneeth KN - Flickr: The artist and the photographer seek the mysteries and the adventure of experience in nature (Explored), CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

КОМЕНТАРІ • 288

  • @dogslobbergardens6606
    @dogslobbergardens6606 Рік тому +270

    Sunflowers are being used today as cover crops on many farms. Their strong roots can dig into heavy soil, and they create a lot of biomass that's either tilled back into the soil to add organic matter to it, or used to make compost. All of that improves the soil for growing next year's crop of whatever.
    They're also useful for reconditioning contaminated soils - they can pull heavy metals and other toxins out of the soil, and then the land will be useful again for other crops.
    Naturally, the large flowers attract pollinators and the seeds are a favorite of songbirds. We leave some of our sunflowers standing after the growing season to provide seeds and shelter for native beneficial birds and insects.

    • @silence-humility-calmness
      @silence-humility-calmness Рік тому +8

      fun info:-) thanks!

    • @deborahdean8867
      @deborahdean8867 Рік тому +11

      Hemp as well is suppose to draw contaminants out of the soil. And it yoo is used hor oil and biomass. And I believe it's the water lotus that's been used to purify sewage to drinking quality

    • @helenamcginty4920
      @helenamcginty4920 Рік тому +7

      I assume the plants used as contaminant cleaners are disposed of somehow as their seeds would also be contaminated along with the rest if the plant.
      There are many plants which can absorb toxins. Even the humble spider plant and several succulent plants often used on the house.

    • @karenf9137
      @karenf9137 Рік тому +3

      Fabulous info!

    • @dogslobbergardens6606
      @dogslobbergardens6606 Рік тому +2

      @@helenamcginty4920 you're right, the plants still have to be dealt with, but it's easier than digging up tons of soil and trying to treat it. You and Deborah Dean are of course also correct that many different plants can be used in similar ways on a small or large scale. It's a fascinating field, pun intended :D

  • @mu99ins
    @mu99ins Рік тому +85

    I grow sunflowers on my corner lot. This year, I planted as many sunflowers as I could in my front yard. The reason is I have heavy soil, and the roots of a sunflower help till the heavy soil.
    I like birds and bees and butterflies, and they like my sunflowers. I get mixed reviews from passerbys. Most of the front yards in my neighborhood are well kept lawns, which is unfortunate
    since California is a drought stricken place. Eventually, the sunflowers will give way to rose bushes, since roses like hard soil. I also planted various gourds, because I like gourds. I plan to
    make bird houses out of them. Maybe paint a few. I plant the tall sunflowers to thwart the feral cats jumping at the birds who feed off of the sunflowers. These birds are frightened of me,
    and fly away when I open the front door. But, if I whistle a tune, they stick around to listen, and eventually resume feeding off the sunflowers as I whistle.

  • @breadman32398
    @breadman32398 Рік тому +123

    My only experience using sunflower oil was a college project where we made a 3d printer that used oil. Sunflower oil had the highest smoke point of commonly available food oils. So it was that hardest to set on fire. Probably makes it good for higher temp cooking.

    • @milosevicmihajlo499
      @milosevicmihajlo499 Рік тому +5

      Only experience? Whait what kind of oil are you guys using then? Isnt sunflower oil like a most comon tipe of oil used for cooking?

    • @breadman32398
      @breadman32398 Рік тому +1

      @@milosevicmihajlo499 I just don't cook.

    • @FruitingPlanet
      @FruitingPlanet Рік тому +1

      canola oil is much more suitable for that, sunflower oil has to be highly refined before heating it to high temperatures, otherwise it is very unhealthy.

    • @007ShaolinMonk
      @007ShaolinMonk Рік тому +5

      In Ukriane we primarly use the sunflower oil. I'd say it has the best fragnance of all. It is even better than olive oil.

    • @dandankovsky7968
      @dandankovsky7968 Рік тому

      @@007ShaolinMonk I used to fry boiled vareniki in sunflower oil when I was a student to have a quick snack.I love sunflower oil smell and taste - it reminds me of food in childhood.

  • @joschafinger126
    @joschafinger126 Рік тому +31

    Here in southern Spain, sunflowers are all over the place -in my area, there are loads of plantations. The seeds are one of the most popular snacks here, while the oil does tend to be somewhat looked down upon in a region that also produces vast amounts of olives.

  • @catboynestormakhno2694
    @catboynestormakhno2694 Рік тому +33

    Sunflowers are also one of the best crops at clearing up radiation in soil, truly a magical plant

  • @drizzlingrose
    @drizzlingrose Рік тому +91

    I gotta say how much I love the food history series, I don't watch many videos with my mom but this is one show we both enjoy watching together, thank you for your continued effort to make these

  • @craigrandle6966
    @craigrandle6966 Рік тому +269

    Phew. I thought this channel was becoming exclusively Peanut the Capybara lore.

    • @jangamaster8677
      @jangamaster8677 Рік тому +62

      Sunflowers seeds are one of Capybara favorite snack. This is a peanut lore video

    • @peanutthecapybara
      @peanutthecapybara Рік тому +32

      @@jangamaster8677 I have to feed Peanut sunflower butter because of his "allergy"

    • @worstnightmare8556
      @worstnightmare8556 Рік тому +4

      A little bit, yeah ...

    • @kingcotton659
      @kingcotton659 Рік тому +6

      I wouldn’t be opposed

    • @craigrandle6966
      @craigrandle6966 Рік тому +8

      @@peanutthecapybara your Peanut content is so unhinged but your primary history videos are so… hinged.
      I love it man I hope you keep it all up.

  • @thedwightguy
    @thedwightguy Рік тому +22

    I grow multi-headed sunflowers for three reasons: pollination, bee food, and migrating song birds in BC Canada southbound love the SMALL seeds (along with that little chipmonk). Bees will overnight in the flower head, doubling the range from their hive!! They really don't need much in terms of fertilizer, no matter what soil they're planted in. We have glacial till high alkaline soil, with some ammendments. They thrive. Deer are the only issue; they love them too. As a alkaloid, esp. when deer are sick (worms, bots, lice) they'll eat the sunflowers as a "med".

  • @jovanweismiller7114
    @jovanweismiller7114 Рік тому +26

    Having spent many long, hot, miserable hours chopping wild sunflowers out of corn and milo fields as a boy, I found this very informative. I grew up in Kansas. Despite the fact that the sunflower is the official state flower and its nickname is the 'Sunflower State', it is consider a noxious weed in Kansas. LOL!

    • @msseedlady2587
      @msseedlady2587 Рік тому

      Kansas is where IMI tolerant sunflowers were discovered. Kansas extension agents contacted BASF to let them know that sunflowers were surviving through their herbicide applications. BASF took those sunflowers and crossbred them with other hybrid sunflowers to convey herbicide tolerance. Hence the Clearfield sunflower was born. To this day, no sunflowers are GMO. All herbicide tolerance (both the Clearfield and ExpressSun) are due to breeding and selection and are considered nonGMO. Seed companies have tried to stack the herbicide tolerance but found the Express trait and Clearfield traits are located too closely on the chromosome and cannot be stacked.

    • @deborahdean8867
      @deborahdean8867 Рік тому +4

      You should try growing helichrysum italicum imortalle. A small daisy like plant. The oil is EXTREMELY valuable (imortalle....imparts imortality....curative. but used most in aromatherapy and perfumes ) . You'd be surprised at the demand for medicinal herbs. And goldenseal. If you grow goldenseal you have a goldmine. These do well in sunflower conditions

  • @hylacinerea970
    @hylacinerea970 Рік тому +12

    sunflower oil is so perfect for fried foods. i just cant resist it-- most fast food companies use fry mixes containing it. 70% of all calories consumed globally come from crops originating from the americas.

  • @kelilahsimone8802
    @kelilahsimone8802 Рік тому +20

    Not only did I not know that Sunflowers were native to North America but my German great grandparents were some of the Volga Germans who immigrated to Canada 🇨🇦 where I was born. 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻Mind Blown 😮

    • @rjohnson1690
      @rjohnson1690 Рік тому +2

      What village did your family come from? My family is Volga German too. 😊

    • @jacqlynblattner894
      @jacqlynblattner894 3 місяці тому

      My Family is Volga German too. My Grandfathers Lineage came from Reez Germany during Catherine the Great and lived in Kamenka, Saratov.

  • @philhenderson1595
    @philhenderson1595 Рік тому +37

    You can’t do a real history of sunflower seeds without a mention of David Der Hairabedian. Founder of David and Sons (now David) Sunflower Seeds. His packages were carried all over Europe by allied troops in WWII.

  • @adriennefloreen
    @adriennefloreen Рік тому +22

    It's cool that you mentioned helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichokes or sun chokes) because I planted some in a bathtub sized plastic pot in my driveway. If you do this the roots divide underground like potatoes. Then you will have a bathtub full of the small edible roots, if anyone hasn't seen one they're like the 2 inches long and they look like a bumpy small potato. If anyone sees these being sold at an organic grocery store or farmers market, you should buy some and plant a few of them. You can eat them raw, which is what I do, or cook them however you want. One of my friends actually microwaves them until they're soft and eats them with butter.

    • @moisesm9602
      @moisesm9602 Рік тому +1

      How do they taste?

    • @adriennefloreen
      @adriennefloreen Рік тому

      @@moisesm9602 When raw they taste like a jicama if you've ever had one of those but with a smoother texture. Slightly sweet. Like a cross between a potato and a sweet potato. Cooked they have the texture most cooked roots have, meaning it's less grainy than potato and more of a smooth texture. They sell them at a lot of grocery stores now, a place like Whole Foods might have them. I wanted them growing so I got some from a local farmers market and a food co-op and I also bought other weird roots they sold like burdock (gophers ate it) and ginger that was sprouting (it's still growing in my kitchen) and an heirloom tomato that was the worst tasting tomato ever (it grew true to seed, the tomatoes that grew were just as bad tasting.) Sometimes grocery stores are a better source of plants than seed companies, I also like to do the same thing at Asian markets and because of this we have a Chinese winter melon growing.

    • @moisesm9602
      @moisesm9602 Рік тому

      @@adriennefloreen ohhh interesting. I would love to try them now. Thanks!

    • @adriennefloreen
      @adriennefloreen Рік тому

      @@moisesm9602 If you can't find them in a store and order them online, order ones meant for eating not ones from a seed company. Some seed companies are selling just like one or a few roots for amazingly high prices, they're the same ones being sold for food, repackaged.

  • @Susan.I
    @Susan.I Рік тому +86

    I didn’t know sunflowers were native to North America. Ours are growing wonderfully!!

    • @MissBabalu102
      @MissBabalu102 Рік тому +6

      Kansas is The Sunflower State. I wonder why...

    • @kathryncasey4114
      @kathryncasey4114 Рік тому +3

      My sunflowers are already harvested for this year. Now it's too hot to grow more.

    • @grovermartin6874
      @grovermartin6874 Рік тому +8

      I've read that Native American tribes across the Great Plains used sunflowers a lot. I believe I read that in a book called Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden. It was a delightful and eye opening series of interviews of a Lakota Sioux woman by an anthropologist in the early 1900s. It begins sounding pretty mundane, but the anthropologist must have taken excellent notes, because all of a sudden, you could almost hear the cadences and tones of her speech. One of my favorite books ever.

    • @JohnnyAngel8
      @JohnnyAngel8 Рік тому +6

      @@kathryncasey4114 In the northeastern US, they don't flower until later in the summer. They are used a lot for autumn decorations.

    • @kathryncasey4114
      @kathryncasey4114 Рік тому +5

      @@JohnnyAngel8 Once temperatures get above 110 not even sunflowers survive. (early to mid June). This isn't a good place for sunflowers but I really like them so I grow them anyway. This year one that was only three inches tall produced a flower. Twelve feet is the tallest I have been able to grow. That's it in my picture. I can't help but love a plant with that much attitude. I like people who make the best of a bad situation too.

  • @nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115
    @nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115 Рік тому +10

    My hamster loves this video.

  • @kariannecrysler640
    @kariannecrysler640 Рік тому +20

    I have heard that sunflowers are good to restore soil. Things like corn can use up nutrients in the soils and sunflowers 🌻 can repair it.😁

    • @dogslobbergardens6606
      @dogslobbergardens6606 Рік тому +8

      Yes. They're used as cover crops sometimes because their tough roots break up compacted soil and they create a lot of biomass in the stems and leaves, which are usually tilled right back into the soil to add organic matter back into it, after the flowers heads and/or seeds themselves are harvested. This is great for farmers because they get a useful crop and improve the soil for next year at the same time.
      Sunflowers also pull toxins and heavy metals out of the soil. That's awesome for an area that was polluted or contaminated somehow, because it really helps bring the soil back to a healthy state and those contaminates won't be polluting the groundwater anymore.
      The seeds are pretty inexpensive in bulk, they're non-GMO and you don't have to sign any contracts with seed corporations to use them, you can save your own seeds for next year and the plants are easy to grow - they don't require a lot of fertilizer or watering. So sunflowers are a very efficient and "green" way to keep the soil healthy.

  • @alexanderscherer4537
    @alexanderscherer4537 Рік тому +4

    I literally shook with excitement when I saw the new video dropped. LOVE this channel!

  • @hylacinerea970
    @hylacinerea970 Рік тому +10

    sunflower oil is also important to many with dietary allergies, olive oil is not perfect for frying many foods. and if someone is allergic to corn, peanut, and soy-- sunflower is the next, and often only option.

  • @kristinahuchison2511
    @kristinahuchison2511 Рік тому +11

    I just love sunflowers! They’re my favorite flower and I love growing all sorts of different colors! I read that different varieties of sunflowers were actually native in other areas of the world. Only problem is when they make their seeds, gold finches and other birds like to eat them, so you have to save the seeds for next year. I normally have tall ones, but I have quite a few short ones that aren’t more than 2 ft. But yeah I believe sunflower oil is actually very healthy too. I even read somewhere they help reduce radiation. Sunflowers are just so amazing and beautiful! 🌻 💛💚

  • @miguelpadeiro762
    @miguelpadeiro762 Рік тому +10

    Praise the sun🙌🙌🌞🌞

  • @TheMuskokaman
    @TheMuskokaman Рік тому +23

    Love sunflowers. I grow them every year next to my house. My Mammoth Russians grew to a height of 15' even, 2 years ago. So I'm trying Pike's peak this year to see if I can beat my old record. Right now at 1 month they are between 2' & 3' tall so who knows what another 75 days will bring..

    • @silence-humility-calmness
      @silence-humility-calmness Рік тому

      fun anticipation

    • @mariahgrimes207
      @mariahgrimes207 Рік тому +2

      I had an “ accidental “ sunflower just pop up one day. It happens to be in a great spot, so I just let it grow to see what would happen.
      It’s at 16’ right now! Just saw it first on April 14!
      The flowers are really small though. I found that disappointing. But that’s ok.
      I have really bad depression and this humble sunflower had me jumping out of bed every morning to check on it🙂

    • @melissashupe5732
      @melissashupe5732 Рік тому

      OOOH! Have you tried the Mammoth variety? SOOO big!

    • @TheMuskokaman
      @TheMuskokaman Рік тому

      @@melissashupe5732 Yes, many times. That is what I referred to in my comment above "Mammoth Russian" sunflowers" Too bad you can't upload photos in comments on UA-cam or I could show you many pics from years past of my sunflowers blooming mammothly at or above the 2nd floor bedroom windows of my house. Quite remarkable plants. Even won me a few ribbons at my local fall fair 🙂

    • @melissashupe5732
      @melissashupe5732 Рік тому +1

      @@TheMuskokaman Pardon my excitement and misinterpreted quick read while watching a video. Horrible multitasking on my part. Embarrassed. Million pardons. Thank you!

  • @Ariel2736
    @Ariel2736 Рік тому +5

    Hello Can you make a video of the history of Mexico? Been trying to find a really good one but they are short and too general, and you are the only channel to make such detailed videos with obscure but relevant info. Thank you!!!! :)

  • @extremosaur
    @extremosaur Рік тому +4

    Can you cover chicory?

  • @Lapantouflemagic0
    @Lapantouflemagic0 Рік тому +17

    I'm growing sunchokes and it's pretty nice. it takes so little effort to grow that you will actually need to weed them out to stop them from growing. even if you collect all of the tubers, some tiny root fragments will still have enough fuel in them to start a new plant the next year.
    the main problem with this plant is that the tubers are a bit difficult to store because they tend to dry up. Putting them in the fridge in an airtight container with some water at the bottom seems to do the trick. you can cook them like potatoes, but it is best to eat them WITH some potatoes otherwise they make you fart as if the fate of the world depended on it.
    sadly my cultivar is literally whatever I could find, and they don't bloom.

    • @midnight8341
      @midnight8341 Рік тому +3

      Eeeh, depending on where you live and whether or not that specific species is native there, you need to put up root barriers around your growing plot. People forgot that elsewhere and the plants spread like crazy and became invasive species. And, as you said, they're pretty hard to erradicate.

    • @grovermartin6874
      @grovermartin6874 Рік тому

      @@midnight8341 Unless raccoons find them, I'm sad to say.

    • @midnight8341
      @midnight8341 Рік тому

      @@grovermartin6874 raccoons are not native to most continents, though. And willfully introducing a second species to get rid of an invasive species didn't quite work out for Australia...

    • @grovermartin6874
      @grovermartin6874 Рік тому +1

      @@midnight8341 True! I was not advocating introducing a species; the local ones found me.

  • @cherylcallahan5402
    @cherylcallahan5402 Рік тому +3

    *Fire of Learning mystery of the Sunflower 🌻 appreciate your commentary Listening 🌟 from Mass USA TYVM 💙*

  • @francescharters6697
    @francescharters6697 Рік тому +3

    I've been growing sunflowers for a long time They are 1 of my favorite flowers The video was really informative thank you!

  • @rafaelcalderabebber1198
    @rafaelcalderabebber1198 Рік тому +6

    A radiant flower

  • @laureeeent
    @laureeeent Рік тому +1

    Mr of Learning, fantastic series!

  • @BigScreamingBaby
    @BigScreamingBaby Рік тому +1

    I've been waiting for this one

  • @knightshade6232
    @knightshade6232 Рік тому +1

    Here in the tropics we grow sunflower 🌞 whole year round, and its our go to snack.. if their no popcorn

  • @willbilly8738
    @willbilly8738 Рік тому +4

    Sunflowers and relatives make for amazing food crops. I know you mentioned the Jerusalem artichoke which is absolutely delicious but my favorite has to be yacon.
    It also produces an edible tuber but it’s very crispy and can be an eaten raw with a very sweet fruity flavor

  • @ScarletRebel96
    @ScarletRebel96 Рік тому +10

    Dude I literally just bought sunflower seeds at a texan Walmart less then a hour ago haha

    • @bigboy379
      @bigboy379 Рік тому +2

      They saw you and put out the video.

  • @Cindyscrossstitch
    @Cindyscrossstitch Рік тому +1

    Sunflowers are my favorite flowers. I grow them all over my yard. There are so many varieties. The birds and bees love them as well as neighbors and people who drive by🌻🌻🌻

  • @CarlosSpicyWang
    @CarlosSpicyWang Рік тому +13

    PRAISE THE SUN

  • @LikaLaruku
    @LikaLaruku Рік тому +8

    I hadn't seen or heard of sunflower oil until after the 2010s. I thought it was a new product.
    I have a cultivar of dwarf sunflowers in my back yard that won't grow any wider than my hand.

    • @midnight8341
      @midnight8341 Рік тому +3

      Where exactly do you live...? I can't remember not having sunflower oil in literally every supermarket around.
      Well, give or take a pandemic panik-buy season...

    • @dogslobbergardens6606
      @dogslobbergardens6606 Рік тому +1

      An interesting thing about that is, if you plant regular tall sunflower varieties in small containers, they'll stay small but still produce smaller but mature flowers and seeds. I have some black oil sunflowers - which normally reach up to ten feet, with a flower 8 or 10 inches across - in small flower pots that are only about a foot tall with flowers about three inches wide.
      The specific dwarf varieties you mentioned will stay small even planted in open ground, though.

  • @mrsbluesky8415
    @mrsbluesky8415 Рік тому +1

    In Virginia when I was a kid there were fields just covered in sunflowers. I think they were just growing wild w no one taking care of them so my mom would pick and bring them home. Mom is gone now and whenever I see sunflowers it reminds me of her.

  • @patricklynch9574
    @patricklynch9574 Рік тому +7

    Russian Mammoth sunflowers awesome.

    • @zacharychastain3681
      @zacharychastain3681 Рік тому +1

      I have a patch planted this year! I'm excited to see how they do!

    • @Lapantouflemagic0
      @Lapantouflemagic0 Рік тому +1

      i definitely can see the appeal, but i wouldn't want something that enormous. the seeds i found in stores were a crappy cultivar with a weak stock/roots, and they always keep bending and falling over. i think i would prefer smaller, colorful flowers that can stay properly upright.

  • @chrisshorten4406
    @chrisshorten4406 Рік тому +4

    Another glorious video! Who knew sunflowers were so important to history?

  • @spooderdoggy
    @spooderdoggy Рік тому +3

    Appreciate your video work in history very much. Thank you!👏🏻

  • @davidchunkyonion
    @davidchunkyonion Рік тому +1

    You always do a great job.

  • @rebelusa6585
    @rebelusa6585 Рік тому +3

    new world gave us so many wonderful plants. sunflower are official flower of kansas.

  • @bigboy379
    @bigboy379 Рік тому +7

    Great content as always, thank you! Sunflower oil is awesome!

  • @samatha1994
    @samatha1994 Рік тому +1

    Interesting video. Sunflowers look great.

  • @Mote.
    @Mote. Рік тому

    Thank you, Justin, for teaching us fun and important history

  • @AshesAshes44
    @AshesAshes44 8 місяців тому

    Sunflowers were the first plant I ever grew. It was first grade, and my teacher gave us small peat pots full of soil and three little sunflower seeds.
    It was a proud day when I brought the sprouts home and planted them in the garden. They grew many, many hundreds of feet tall and I've been gardening ever since! 🌱

  • @Kevin_Street
    @Kevin_Street Рік тому +7

    Thank you for this video! It explains why they have so many sunflowers in Ukraine.

  • @ArtingInMuhPJs
    @ArtingInMuhPJs Рік тому

    I just love this channel. 🌻

  • @nobleharvey9935
    @nobleharvey9935 Рік тому

    Your humor and cadence remind me of Walter Kronkite, thanx for the memories! This was an enjoyable experience 😉 keep up the fantastic work 👏

  • @braukorpshomebrew6039
    @braukorpshomebrew6039 Рік тому +2

    I grow sunchokes. I would love to see you make a video about them!

  • @dmitrimikrioukov5935
    @dmitrimikrioukov5935 Рік тому +5

    Sunflower seeds are the most popular snack in Russia and sunflower oil is the most popular type of oil there.

    • @yungsteaksauceakalilwasher6571
      @yungsteaksauceakalilwasher6571 Рік тому +2

      Same here in Turkey

    • @LeeGee
      @LeeGee Рік тому +1

      Seeds are popular in Hungary but the oil is horrible

    • @constantinethecataphract5949
      @constantinethecataphract5949 Рік тому

      Seeds are popular in Greece too but we prefer olive oil

    • @vaalor6829
      @vaalor6829 Рік тому

      I'd say sunflower oil is THE oil in Russia. 95% of oil we use is sunflower oil. Olive oil is very expensive here and is used mostly for high-class stuff, mostly in restaraunts and by wealthy people, not by common folk. All other types of oil (corn, pumpkin, linseed, etc.) are very rare and consumed by only a few enthusiasts.

  • @sherishaffertheartistandmy7948

    Very interesting! Thank you!

  • @cnrsfilms
    @cnrsfilms Рік тому +5

    I was wondering when you would mention the part where they became a prominent power source against a hoard of zombies.

  • @harrietharlow9929
    @harrietharlow9929 Рік тому

    This is very interesting video. Now I know more about this versatile flower.

  • @theobserver9131
    @theobserver9131 Рік тому +10

    I used to buy big bags of birdseed grade sunflower seeds to cast all over my yard, feed some birds and then the seeds the birds didn't find would grow. My yard was basically a field of sunflowers. I lived in a suburban residential area in Florida at the time, and most of America being members of the useless yard cult, hated my sunflowers. I also had gourds growing up my trees. My yard looked something like a Dr. Seuss fantasy land. I eventually got pushed out of that neighborhood. Mostly to my benefit I think. Poor brainwashed grass cult freaks. I am now living in rural Virginia, and people could not care less what I grow in my yard. Thank you for reminding me about wonderful sunflowers!

    • @ryankiesow8440
      @ryankiesow8440 Рік тому

      It's much better o turn the land back to native flowers and hardgrasses

  • @Susan.I
    @Susan.I Рік тому

    I love sunflowers! We grew some this summer!!

  • @Benni777
    @Benni777 Рік тому +47

    Hey, can u do a video on how Pickles came to be so popular? I know they come from cucumbers, but there has to be a history from consuming just cucumbers, to then picking them into, well, pickles! ☺️

    • @gomahklawm4446
      @gomahklawm4446 Рік тому +7

      A LOT of things used to be pickled so they'd last through the winter etc. As to why pickled cucumbers stuck around....idk.... pickled eggs are pretty popular in some places. They are sure to make one gag.

    • @LeeGee
      @LeeGee Рік тому +5

      @@gomahklawm4446 Lots of things are still pickled, which makes the American use of the word "pickle" so strange. Picked paprika, melon, cauliflower, eggs....

    • @AlexanderRay92
      @AlexanderRay92 Рік тому +6

      Picking became popular because it is a way to preserve food, particularly vegetables through the winter, I believe.
      Traditionally, pickling was a form of lactofermentation, and you can still buy pickles in this style though most store-bought are pickled in vinegar instead.
      It is kind of weird that people use pickle as shorthand for pickled cucumber, though. My favorite is pickled carrot!

    • @hannibalburgers477
      @hannibalburgers477 Рік тому

      >Salt protects stuff
      >Makes meat dry faster and tastes good
      >Cover meat in salt
      >Works well
      >Cover fruit in salt
      >Doesnt work
      >Put fruit in water with salt
      You invented early vinegar
      You invented early pickles
      What is there to not understand nyukka

  • @joangordoneieio
    @joangordoneieio Рік тому +3

    I grow the giant ones every summer to feed the birds with during winter. In New Mexico where I live the wild ones line the roads come August.

  • @naughtiusmaximus830
    @naughtiusmaximus830 Рік тому

    The Dutch 50 guilder note was spectacular.

  • @sludgefactory241
    @sludgefactory241 Рік тому

    Good stuff!

  • @dr.michaelr.foreman2170
    @dr.michaelr.foreman2170 Рік тому +2

    The tallest I have ever grown was 14 feet. However, this year, I am growing a much shorter sunflower - one meter tall.

  • @laureeeent
    @laureeeent Рік тому +1

    I did enjoy this video.

  • @CoralReaper707
    @CoralReaper707 Рік тому +2

    How could you forget the most important piece? That piece being a sunflower singing "there's a zombie on your lawn".

  • @wlanvintigar
    @wlanvintigar Рік тому

    Ours are growing wonderfully!!

  • @h.huffen-puff4105
    @h.huffen-puff4105 Рік тому

    Thank you.

  • @Research0digo
    @Research0digo Рік тому +1

    8:12 Yaaaay! :D Pennsylvania Dutch is actually Pennsylvania Deutch (German), though Menno Simmons did preach in the Netherlands. The gorgeous hand made carriage you see at 8:13 is most likely used by an Amish family, however.

  • @jessicajayes8326
    @jessicajayes8326 Рік тому +3

    Love sunflower seeds, also love how sunflowers can absorb radiation.

  • @sarcasmo57
    @sarcasmo57 Рік тому

    Very interesting.

  • @josephschaumberg4136
    @josephschaumberg4136 Рік тому

    Wow cool plant

  • @edwardgomez5616
    @edwardgomez5616 Рік тому +1

    We have wild types of sunflower all around in N.C

  • @NIkki-ox1ej
    @NIkki-ox1ej Рік тому

    This was my wedding flower !! 🌻

  • @bakedbean37
    @bakedbean37 Рік тому +1

    For a few years, on a north facing wall here in the north of England, I had a perennial sunflower (I never knew this was a thing) growing out of a joint on a cast iron drainpipe about 8 feet up .
    It only ever saw the morning sun very fleetingly and even less of the evening sun and yet still it grew and managed to flower each year. Just.
    How on earth it ever got there will remain a mystery but I suspect dinosaurs were involved.
    Another remarkable specimen is one that I watched one year on the odd occasion that I passed growing in the gutter of an island just off a roundabout.
    I was absolutely delighted to see it actually survive and make it all the way through to fully flowering in such an incongruous location.
    Ain't nature amazing?

  • @Mujangga
    @Mujangga Рік тому

    Le Professeur Tournesol lui-même serait fier de vous pour cet excellent vidéo.

  • @roberttelarket4934
    @roberttelarket4934 Рік тому +1

    I’ve always been terrified of these giants!

  • @thespecialduck5030
    @thespecialduck5030 Рік тому

    i love the food vids so much

  • @DIYSolarandWind
    @DIYSolarandWind Рік тому

    Awesome

  • @edwin5419
    @edwin5419 Рік тому +3

    Yet another thing I've discovered about my Mennonite ancestors. Super cool

  • @invisiblejaguar1
    @invisiblejaguar1 Рік тому

    Remind me of my childhood :-)

  • @allanrichardson9081
    @allanrichardson9081 Рік тому +1

    I wonder if these tall, straight plants could have inspired the story of Jack and the beanstalk?

  • @andreyradchenko8200
    @andreyradchenko8200 Рік тому +1

    A good vid, but you missed one other use: the seeds are used as base ingredient one of, if not the most, popular variants of Central Asian dessert called 'kozinak'. It's pretty much just a mass of seeds stuck together in caramel or honey and dried to a solid state. It's very sweet, but sometimes hard to chew through.

  • @freehugs9223
    @freehugs9223 Рік тому

    That is a big sunflower 🌻

  • @nickeichstaedt9379
    @nickeichstaedt9379 Рік тому +2

    I believe it

  • @maggiegarber246
    @maggiegarber246 Рік тому

    Well, I like this video. I am a Kansan, from The Sunflower State.

  • @ElicBehexan
    @ElicBehexan Рік тому +4

    Gee... maybe I should go out back and cut some of my sunflower 'volunteers' and see what I can eat.

  • @Lady_Chalk
    @Lady_Chalk Рік тому

    Sunflowers are my favorite. Unfortunately, the way my townhouse is angled, including the privacy fence in the back, I can not get enough sun for them. Oh and the HOA wouldn't want me growing them in the front yard.

  • @hassanminbaghdad
    @hassanminbaghdad Рік тому

    your voice is so beautiful

  • @yellowcatmonkey
    @yellowcatmonkey 8 місяців тому

    whoa😮not even once was eating seeds mentioned..or i might have missed it😸as a russian citizen i can tell you that every grocery store here has them on shelves with the other snacks like chips/croutons usually or beside nuts. they're eaten roasted with salt right in their husks-shells and sold in bags same as potato chips. many russians eat them husking them like squirrels either with their mouths' help (gradually shaping their teeth in the process) or just using hands(less common)😸

  • @TheBuilder
    @TheBuilder Рік тому

    now that you explain it, it seems very believable

  • @LoisThiessen
    @LoisThiessen 10 місяців тому

    An interesting fact about sunflowers is that the blooms turn to follow the sun throughout the day. If you look at a ripe sunflower head, you will see that the stalk is twisted as a result of this phenomenon.

  • @sidilicious11
    @sidilicious11 Рік тому

    30 feet! I can’t even!🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

  • @tribudeuno
    @tribudeuno Рік тому

    China’s most famous contemporary artist, Ai Weiwei, has spoken about the sunflower’s importance in China. It was used by Chairman Mao for propaganda in posters for the flower following the sun in its daily arc, with Mao represented as the sun that the people should follow. Ai Weiwei speaks of sunflower seeds being used as a staple during the Cultural Revolution when famine of other crops were not available. He said that people would always have a pocket full of sunflower seeds, and pull them out to share with a friend while in conversation. He said that many Chinese have a chipped front tooth from biting the seed to crack it. During the last decade, one of Ai Weiwei’s major art works was to have artisans of China’s porcelain industry to make like 100,000,000 porcelain sunflower seeds, each hand painted, flying them to England and depositing them as an art installation in a huge hall of the Tate Museum…

  • @tonyleukering8832
    @tonyleukering8832 Рік тому +2

    There are many species of sunflower, some of which are shown despite NOT being the cultivated species.

  • @markkallstrom5672
    @markkallstrom5672 Рік тому

    Kallstrom Sweet Corn , For the first time in 2022 , Im growing 55 acres of sunflowers , here in Ephrata , Washington . U.S.A.

  • @hrlrl9309
    @hrlrl9309 Рік тому +1

    In your description, if you put https in front of your patreon link, it will become clickable.

  • @MagdaleneDivine
    @MagdaleneDivine Рік тому

    Who knew. I never ever thought about sunflower having history.
    It's my favorite perfume tho

  • @ethanmcdonald5899
    @ethanmcdonald5899 Рік тому

    I have some out back around 13-15ft

  • @afrz4454
    @afrz4454 Рік тому +13

    It didn't only reach the Mexica (Aztecs) but it was sacred to them Also the sunflower was indeed domesticated in Mesoamerica, seeds have been found in many temples throughout Mesoamerica from cultures that preceded the Mexica. It was indeed domesticated in what is now Mexico.

  • @jacoballred
    @jacoballred Рік тому +1

    Just remembering baseball games eating sunflower seeds and hot dogs.

  • @RealBradMiller
    @RealBradMiller Рік тому

    Thirty feet and an inch?!? That's crazy!! I wonder how it was supported.

  • @TedJohnson85
    @TedJohnson85 Рік тому

    and more....!

  • @greenoftreeblackofblue6625
    @greenoftreeblackofblue6625 Рік тому

    Love food lore.