Tell me, do you have any favorite flowers? When I am asked such a question, I usually answer that all flowers are beautiful, especially living ones (by living I mean flowers that grow, and not cut in bouquets), but, probably, I'm still lying at the same time)) Because I do have preferences)).
For example, I really like sunflowers. When I came up with this post, I thought it was unlikely that I would be able to write a lot of text, however, when I started reading about sunflowers on the Internet, I learned a lot of interesting things about them, including things that I had not known before. So, the name sunflower comes from the Greek words helius ("sun") and anthemon ("flower"), that is, literally it means "sun flower". The Russian name differs insignificantly, and means "under the sun". It is believed that the Russian name arose due to one feature of these flowers, heliotropy, that is, the ability to rotate inflorescences following the sun moving across the sky. Sunflowers are not the only ones who have this ability, but that's another story))
There are more than a hundred types of sunflower, and the most common is probably the annual sunflower (Helianthus annuus in Latin), and it is exactly this in my photos. However, where does the sunflower come from? From North America, local Indians began cultivating it 2,000 years ago, perhaps even before wheat. The Spaniards brought sunflower to Europe, and it got to Russia thanks to Tsar Peter I. When the tsar was in Holland, when he saw sunflowers, he was so delighted that he ordered the seeds of these flowers to be sent to Russia.
At first, sunflowers were used in our country for decorative purposes, and their seeds served as an inexpensive delicacy available to everyone. However, at present everyone knows another use of sunflower - as a raw material for the production of sunflower oil. Wikipedia says that the British first thought about it at the beginning of the 18th century, but for some reason it never came to mass production of oil.
A little more than a century later, the mass production of sunflower oil began in Russia. We owe this to Dmitry Bokarev, a serf of Count Sheremetv (that is, practically a slave). Bokarev was well acquainted with the process of obtaining linseed and hemp oil, and he decided to try to get sunflower oil in the same way, and succeeded in this endeavor.A few years later, in the village of Alekseevka (now a city in the Belgorod region in southern Russia), where Bokarev lived, the first oil mill was built, then Bokarev managed to open his own creamery, and a year later, in 1835, they began exporting sunflower oil abroad, and the number of oil mills became more and more, and by 1860 their number reached 160. It was thanks to the oil industry that the village began to flourish and eventually turned into a city. I have never been to Alekseevka (and Belgorod, too), but now I really want to go there and look at the monument to Dmitry Bokarev, installed by grateful countrymen. There is also a street named after him.
That's the story) Sunflower oil is still probably the most popular frying oil in Russia, it is also used for dressing vegetable salads. Of course, many people also like olive oil, but, in my opinion, it has too bright a taste of its own and it does not suit all products.
As for sunflower seeds, they are extremely popular here) At my house you will always find a package of ready-made seeds bought in the store. However, I remember how in my childhood, my grandmother and I fried them ourselves with salt in a frying pan. I think I should try to do it again))
All the photos that you see here, I took in St. Petersburg and two (where there are several flowers in one frame) in Sestroretsk, near St. Petersburg. This proves that sunflowers are able to successfully acclimatize in northern latitudes. However, I have not heard that they were specially grown here for the production of sunflower oil. Still, it's better to do it in the south. Well, here we are just admiring them and enjoying the seeds))
This is my entry for the #monomad challenge
Thank you for stopping by and reading and watching this post!
Your Irchen