TheNaturePlanet

Let's talk about sunflowers and portulaca grandiflora that are always confused today. Many people think they are the same kind of flower, but in fact, they are two different kinds of flowers. Today, I'll teach you how to distinguish these two kinds of flowers.

First, let's talk about sunflowers. Its name comes from its tracking of sunlight. The flowers will rotate from east to west with the position of the sun, which is also its most remarkable feature. The flowering period of sunflowers is almost the entire summer. It belongs to the Helianthus genus of the Asteraceae family. In sunflower fields, it is a giant among Asteraceae plants, growing very tall and thick. There will be white coarse hairs on the flower stems, and the leaves are heart-shaped. The tubular flowers in the middle of the flower disk can be pollinated. If it bears fruit, it will be the sunflower seeds we know. In addition, the flower language of sunflowers is bravery and faith, and it is suitable for graduating students.

Next is portulaca grandiflora, whose actual name is Gerbera jamesonii, a variety from Africa. Its growth habit has nothing to do with the sun at all. It is simply called portulaca grandiflora because it looks like the sun. It belongs to the Gerbera genus of the Asteraceae family and is a perennial herb. If you look closely at the flower shape, it has various colors, and its petals are relatively slender ligulate flowers, like feather shapes. Because the overall gene is relatively thin, the fluff on the stem is not as thick as that of sunflowers. The shape of the leaves is like a sawtooth and will grow closer to the soil.

In addition, the flower language of portulaca grandiflora is always being happy, firm mutual love, perseverance, etc. It symbolizes the blessing of lighting up your rich life and can also be given to graduating students.
In general, as long as sunflowers and portulaca grandiflora are placed together, they can be recognized at a glance. But if you look at them separately, you can look at the black part of the tubular flowers in the middle. For portulaca grandiflora, the inside is relatively small and has a concave feeling, while the feature of sunflowers is that they have wider yellow petals and brown flower disks. When it comes to the difference in petals, the petals of portulaca grandiflora are relatively slender. The flower color may be red or orange, and the size is relatively small.

Another part, of course, is their stems. The stems of sunflowers are very thick, while those of portulaca grandiflora are more fairy-like.