00:00How does a sunflower know where the sun is all day long?
00:03Young sunflowers, while they're still growing and before their flowers fully open,
00:07actually track the sun from east to west throughout the day.
00:10It's called heliotropism, and it happens because different sides of the stem grow at different rates,
00:15bending the plant towards the sun.
00:17Then overnight, they reset, turning back east before sunrise.
00:21Once sunflowers mature, the tracking stops.
00:24Most settle facing east, where the morning sun warms their blooms and helps attract pollinators.
00:30So in a way, sunflowers are nature's original solar trackers.
