Fun fact: Contrary to popular belief, mature sunflowers do not track the sun with their flower heads (that process is called “heliotropism.” Here is a field just after the sun set behind it. Notice they are all still facing east.

Fun fact: Sunflowers commonly grow as tall as 9-12 feet in just 5-6 months! Practical of course since that allows them over the sunny season to be planted, grown, and be harvested.

Fun fact: In 1983, a sunflower was grown in British Columbia that was a whopping 32 inches across! Part of sunflowers’ glamour is their size, but that’s bigger than your average Helianthus.

Fun fact: Although lots of bees are ideal for sunflowers to pollinate, if there aren’t enough, those clever flowers know how to become self-pollinators, ensuring their survival.

Fun fact: It may be tempting to stand among those tall sunflowers, but they are a farmer’s livelihood. Unless you have permission, stay at the field’s edge so you don’t break any plants. Tiny Wilbur and Dr Whoo had permission of course and were very careful, not to mention they are really small.

Fun fact: The middle of the sunflower actually consists of many more itty-bitty flowers, and each flower can have as many as 2,000 seeds.

Fun fact: California produces 95% of the seed exported and Yolo County accounts for nearly half that. With such a short blooming season (about mid-June to mid-July), a hot air ballon ride over the swaths of yellow fields can be a highlight.

Fun fact: Sunflower oil is a great source of vitamins A and D; however, not much sunflower oil is used in the United States. Which is why so much of the seed grown here goes to Eastern European and South American countries.

Fun fact: People can be a little whacky (not us, well not here). In 2015 in Germany, nearly 750 members of a club dressed up as sunflowers. Not sure if that was a world record  for the largest number of people dressed as sunflowers — if that category exists. We stuck to regular clothes and big smiles for our sunflower selfie.

Fun fact: We hear the entire sunflower plant is actually edible. Really? In the next breath, we hear the plants naturally soak up contaminates in the soil. You know, like uranium or lead. Think we’ll stick with photos.

Fun fact: Sunflowers aren’t all yellow! Yup, although that cheery yellow makes you smile, we wouldn’t turn down a red or purple one.

Fun fact: A fear of sunflowers is called “helianthophobia” and could stem from that large darker center “disc” that looks like a vortex that will suck you in, creating dread and foreboding. No worries if you look at the back of the flower?