The latin name of the plant,"Hélianthus annuun", comes from the Greek hélios (sun) and anthos (flower). Annuus come from the fact that it is an annual. The French name of the plant, tournesol or turn-sun, illustrates the fact that the sunflower, when young, orients itself according to the sun, which it symbolises.
A legend in Greek mythology tells us that Apollo, god of the sun, had Clydia, a water nymphe, as his mistress, but her sister, Leucothoé, as well.
Jealous, Clydia denounced this liaison to her father, Ocean, who, furious, buried his youngest daughter alive. Apollo, betrayed, abandonned Clydia who let herself waste away. Touched by her despair, Apollo transformed her into a heliotrope because she was always turned towards the sun. |
