An elegant sunflower in the autumn light

by Silva Wischeropp

This enchanting natural scene was captured in the early evening of 26 September 2026 in the countryside of the Barnim Nature Park.
The photograph was taken with a NIKON D800 camera (lens: NIKKOR 24.0–70.0 mm f/2.8).

A few decades after Columbus’s ‘discovery’ of America, Spanish sailors brought the first sunflowers to Europe. It was soon realised that the sunflower was not only a pleasing sight but also useful. However, it took around 300 years before sunflowers were cultivated on a large scale in Europe in the 19th century for oil production – initially in Russia, incidentally. Even today, the largest growing regions are in Eastern Europe, as well as in France and, of course, in North America.

The sunflower does not merely resemble the sun in appearance. It is also one of those plants that can orient its inflorescence according to the position of the sun. This is due to a special substance that causes the plant to grow more vigorously on the shaded side, so that the stem turns towards the sun. In gardens and fields, sunflowers grow to a height of two to three metres, and there are now hundreds of varieties, ranging from dwarf varieties, where the enormous flower head almost touches the ground, to true giants. Some gardeners even manage to grow specimens over seven metres tall with the right variety, plenty of fertiliser and a support frame.