The dayesye or elles the eye of day,
The emperice and flour of floures alle.
--_Chaucer, Good Women, l. 184._
The sunflowers are mostly large, erect, perennial herbs, with the
flowers characteristic of the order Compositae. They are natives of
tropical America, but have become widely distributed in cultivation,
appreciated on account of their large yellow flowers. They not only
thrive very luxuriantly under cultivation, but spread very quickly
spontaneously. Every one is familiar with the sunflower as it appears
in cultivation, hence no special description shall be given of it. It
is kin to the iron weed, the dandelion, the golden rods, the asters and
the daisies.
It would be impracticable to describe or mention all the species and
varieties of sunflowers and their numerous relatives. We shall refer
very briefly to a few of the more common kinds. Helianthus annuus
is a commonly cultivated species. The seeds of this plant furnish a
very useful oil; the flowers yield honey and a useful dye; the stalks
a textile fabric and the leaves fodder. The seeds of this and other
species are also used as food, and as a surrogate for coffee. The
carefully dried and prepared leaves have been used as a substitute for
tobacco in cigars. Poultry eat the seeds very greedily and thrive well
upon them, due to the oil present. It is also maintained that a large
number of sunflowers about a dwelling place will serve as a protection
against malaria. An infusion of the stem is said to be anti-malarial.
H. tuberosus, known as the Jerusalem artichoke, has large tuberous
roots which are sometimes eaten when cooked or pickled. Several
species are said to have decided medicinal properties. H. odora is
said to be carminative, diuretic, stimulant and antemetic. H. rigida
is tonic and astringent. H. virgaurea of both continents is also
astringent and tonic. In the eclectic school of medicine the infusion
of seeds is used as a mild expectorant, and the expressed oil as a
diuretic. The diuretic properties are said to be due to nitre, which
occurs most plentifully in the central pith of the stalks.
The medicinal virtues of the sunflowers are very limited and uncertain.
Their principal use is that of a showy garden plant. That they check
or prevent malaria is quite probable, because of their draining effect
upon the soil rather than any medicinal property residing in the plants
themselves.
The daisies, of which the ox-eye daisy is a well-known example, are
garden and field favorites. As already indicated, they are kin to the
sunflowers. The word daisy is a contraction of the old English words
"dayes eye," that is, the eye of day, meaning the sun, as indicated in
the verse from Chaucer. There are a great many flowers known as daisies
and again a given one has a number of popular names. For instance,
Rudbeckia hirta (see illustration) is variously designated yellow
daisy, black-eyed Susan, nigger head, golden Jerusalem and ox-eye daisy.
The two plates illustrate the tall or giant sunflower (H. giganteus)
and the daisy just referred to.
Albert Schneider.
[Illustration: TALL OR GIANT SUNFLOWER.
(_Helianthus giganteus._)]
[Illustration: BLACK-EYED SUSAN OR OX-EYE DAISY.
(_Rudbeckia hirta._)
FROM "NATURE'S GARDEN."
COPYRIGHT 1900, BY
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY.]