Reasons Why Stunning Sunflowers Could Be New Montana State Flower

Sunflowers are just awesome. Everybody likes them, they're found everywhere, and they're easy to grow at home. Montana has huge fields of them and sunflowers are one of the most popular flowers to grow in your own backyard. Sorry, Bitterroot. You're just not as prevalent.

Don't get me wrong - I have much respect for Montana's current official flower, the Bitterroot. "The bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva) was a logical historical choice. In 1805, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark "discovered" the plant in the western Montana valley that now bears its name. Montana's Indians used bitterroot as an important part of their diet."

It's just that the various kinds of sunflowers are so much more "available" and easy to spot. They're practically everywhere and not hard to find. Perhaps the sunflower could be an unofficial backup Montana state flower. We'll consider it a viable runner-up?

From what we've gathered here, sunflowers in large quantities might be able to help clean up areas around Butte and Libby. It's certainly worth a shot. If Chernobyl tried - we should probably try too. Plus, they grow so well here.

According to Grange Co-op: "There are more than 70 species of sunflowers in the world, all of which fall into the genus Helianthus. Some of the most obvious differences between the species are their color, height, and bloom size."

• Farmers use them in their fields as a good rotation crop
• Sunflowers can detoxify the soil when planted in large areas
• Sunflowers obviously can produce sunflower oil and seeds
• Sunflowers provide seeds, nectar, and pollen to birds, bees, and other pollinators
• Sunflowers are very easy to grow in most climates
• Sunflowers are drought tolerant and pest resistant
• You can even find them growing wild on the side of a road

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"Sunflowers have a remarkable ability to absorb toxins, including toxic metals and radiation. Following nuclear disasters such as Chernobyl and Fukushima, scientists planted millions of sunflowers to help the land recover." (AppleYardFlowers.com)

• The entire sunflower plant is edible
• The sunflower has been cultivated for over 4,500 years because of it's usefulness
• Sunflowers are native to North America. Spanish explorers brought seeds back to Europe in the 1500s.
• Sunflowers blooms only "follow the sun" when they are young. When they are mature plants, they stay facing east as this attracts bees and other pollinators.
• Standard sunflowers reach heights between 6 feet and 10 feet tall.

"The tallest sunflower ever recorded was 30 feet, and needed some rather elaborate scaffolding to keep it stable. It was grown by Hans-Peter Schiffer in Germany, who had already broken the record three times before." (AppleYardFlowers.com)