Why Are These Sunflowers False?

False sunflower in Schenley Park, 24 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John) 28 July 2026 July and August are the best time of year to see sunflowers in western Pennsylvania. Most of them are true. One is false. Why? CharacteristicTrue SunflowersFalse SunflowerRays are just decorationsTrue. Rays are not flowers; have no fertile partsFalse! Rays are fertile; have stamen or pistilDeer eat themYes. No. These taste bitter & their leaves have rough, coarse texture Here’s a sunflower ray that is not simply a decoration. It is a flower in its own right. False sunflower ray-flower (photo by Kate St. John) Let’s look more closely. Super closeup of a false sunflower ray-flower (photo by Kate St. John) Can you tell which sunflowers are true and false in these closeups? Remember about the rays: True=decoration, False=flower. (closeup photos by Kate St. John) What about these two? Tricky! The important part is hidden. True or false (photo by Kate St. John) True or false? (photo by Kate St. John) If you…