The Plant That Moves

Sunflowers are one plant that are so full of emotion and humanity that it’s no surprise that they’ve been the model for many artists (Van Gogh, Klimt, Gauguin, Rivera, Vitali Komarov).

The plant is so crafty that when it is in the bud stage it tracks the movement of the sun as it moves across the horizon. Once the flower opens, though, it becomes stationary, facing east. Botanists believe it may be a defensive response, preventing it from being scalded by the sun, which could happen on hot days if it faced south or west.