What the Sunflower Represents
The sunflower is beautiful as is, but understanding what the flower represents adds another level of beauty.
Although the sunflower’s meaning varies based on religious and cultural roots, the sunflower’s meaning is mentioned consistently in legends and mythology. The sunflower’s botanical name—Helianthus annuus—is Greek; “helios” means sun and “anthos” means flower. The botanical name directly translates to “sunflower annual,” which is quite fitting for this gorgeous plant. In fact, it’s also why we named one of our stunning sunflower bouquets The Helios.”
The Greeks explained the significance of the sunflower through mythology; the legend associated with the sunflower is just as captivating as the sunflower itself. The Greeks celebrated the sunflower’s dedication to the sun through a story of a water nymph who loved Apollo, the god of the sun. The ancient Greeks believed that the water nymph would sit on the earth, gaze at the sun (Apollo, of course) daily. Since Apollo did not notice the water nymph’s attention, the other gods empathized and turned her into a beautiful sunflower.
Adoration of the sunflower is not restricted to western civilization. In China, the sunflower represents happiness, intelligence, vitality, good fortune, and longevity. In fact, our bouquet The Sonny, with several sunflowers and limonium included, was designed with happiness in mind. The sunflower’s golden petals and sun-like blossom symbolize more than the sun itself; the sunflower’s meaning has expanded to include spiritual knowledge and a continual quest for truth. The Incans and Aztecs used sunflowers in their rituals; Incan priestesses wore golden sunflowers on their garb and sunflower images are prevalent in Aztec temples. Indigenous cultures of North America consider sunflowers a symbol of harvest, bounty, and provision.
Overall, the sunflower represents so much more than just the sun—the sunflower is a continual representation of cultural traditions.