I planted these Mexican sunflowers from seeds and it takes about 2 months to have the first flower! I'm very excited about it as I can see that there are a lot more flowers to bloom. I felt very lucky to see this beautiful orange butterfly on the very first Mexican sunflower that blooms just today! The different orange shades of both are just perfect together. And yes, that soothes my mind 😍
The latin name of Mexican sunflower is Tithonia diversifolia and it is one of the flowers in Asteraceae family (daisy, cosmos etc.). I love the very bright orange color of this flower as it does a great job attracting lives into my garden area.
Plus, it can be used as a green fertilizer. They even said that this beautiful flower can also be used as chicken feed, fuelwood, soil erosion control, and building materials.
For fertilization, it is used as a mulch which can be spread on top of the soil or buried beneath it. The advantages here is that using the plant as a fertilizer has proven to increase crop yields. It also helps to restore phosphorus in high amounts to the soil.
Symbolism
🌸 In Japan, towards the end of the Meiji Period, they were imported as ornamental plants although seldom cultivated there. Having a characteristic bitter taste, they were used to induce a fever to help fight poisoning, although not used for direct medicinal purposes. There is also the story of the species being introduced to Japan by Nitobe Inazo, hence its Japanese name, the Nitobe chrysanthemum (ニトベギク; Nitobegiku).
🌸 They are sold in herbal medicine markets in Taiwan.
🌸 It is the provincial flower of Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand.
🌸 It is the unofficial symbol of Da Lat city, Vietnam.
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tithonia_diversifolia
Photos are taken by my Sumsung Galaxy Note ll
Wikawee 🙋
