Imagine my amazement and joy in spotting the beaut during a walk in 40-degree weather January 7! Poked around online for yellow flowers in Central Texas. Yes, big net. "33 Types of Yellow Flowers" looked promising with Sunflower Helianthus. Daisy Asteraceae and Black-Eyed Susan Rudbeckia were distant candidates. Each of these three flower types has a relatively large dark center that contrasts with its yellow petals.
I Googled for "Sunflower Helianthus", then decided that images search was more sensible. Eventually, I moseyed over to "Helianthus annuus" and "Sunflower Helianthus central texas".
In the back of my mind, some details about the bloom I pic'd piqued my curiosity. When I returned to the pic place on 1/21, hoping to see its condition, I noticed it gone. I wondered if someone dug it up. I noticed the area seemed undisturbed. Even took a pic. Hmm. Another curiosity was it having been a solo bloom. My scant recollection with sunflowers was that they grow on stems, and grow in groups. This solo bloom sat atop coarse-mulch stuff and near a limestone (maybe) rock.
A few days later, I went back to take better pictures of the area. The homeowner and daughter happened to drive up. I asked them if they had seen a sunflower where I pointed. She said yes, walking up a few concrete steps. She pointed to one, picked it up, then tossed it closer to me. The bloom's looks inspired me to look up "artificial sunflowers". "Honey Bee Sunflower Bouquet" displayed some images that closely resembled the specimen.
"Yellow Sunflower Blossoms, Artificial Flowers (8 Blooms)" had an even better AHA-the-bloom's-not-real image. The fourth thumbnail was an image of the bloom's underside, showing a prominent plastic stem socket.
A day later, I spotted the "bloom" where the girl left it. I picked it up, placing it close to the original spot of 1/7. Pic'd it, recorded it with zoom in/out, rotating and flipping the bloom. The second image above is a composite of a still image with its plastic stem socket.
Even though the bloom was a fake, I felt it worthwhile to have done online searches to determine the fake's intended flower type. The following links are helpful in case you want to know more about wildflowers, which the sunflower is considered to be, and sunflower relations.
"US Wildflower's Database of Yellow Wildflowers for Texas" has a decently varied catalog with images and scientific names. Four instances of "Helianthus" helped narrow the search for sunflowers.
"Texas’ Top 20 [Wildflower] Field Guide" has a nice collection with pix and summaries, including an entry for the common sunflower.
Common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) blooms March through December in vacant lots, fields, pastures, open stream banks, and along roadsides and railroad tracks throughout the state. Texas boasts some 19 species of wild sunflowers, ...
Although lacking information about sunflowers,"Hill Country Wildflower Identification Guide" has stunning pix and primer info for area wildflowers.
"Sunflower Care & Planting - Growing Sensational Sunflowers" is a nice primer of varieties with great pix. It also has an index of links to additional flower types.
Annual sunflowers bloom during summer and into autumn. Sow new plants every few weeks and you’ll enjoy non-stop flowers until the first frost. Perennial sunflowers bloom for a period of 8-12 weeks with some beginning as early as July and others finishing as late as October.
"15 Standout Sunflower Varieties" also has a nice collection of specimen pix and info. Some text and pic at the Choco Sun example nudged me to do an image search for "Helianthus annuus 'Choco Sun'". Many of the results sure seem to resemble the plastic bloom. OTOH, "chocolate sunflower" has starkly different petals!
I think I'll not be ever again fooled by a solo bloom in early January. Not sunflowers, anyway. In any case, finding more info about them and additional wildflowers was lots of fun!
