"Bring me then the plant that points to those bright Lucidites swirling up from the earth,
And life itself exhaling that central breath!
Bring me the sunflower crazed with the love of light"
~Eugenio Montale~

The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant native to the Americas in the family Asteraceae, with a large flowering head (inflorescence).
The stem of the flower can grow as high as 3 metres tall, with the flower head reaching up to 30 cm in diameter with the "large" seeds..

Portami il girasole ch'io lo trapianti Portami il girasole ch'io lo trapianti nel mio terreno bruciato dal salino, e mostri tutto il giorno agli azzurri specchianti del cielo l'ansietà del suo volto giallino. Tendono alla chiarità le cose oscure, si esauriscono i corpi in un fluire di tinte: queste in musiche. Svanire é dunque la ventura delle venture. Portami tu la pianta che conduce dove sorgono bionde trasparenze e vapora la vita quale essenza; portami il girasole impazzito di luce. (Eugenio Montale, Ossi di Seppia)

SLIDESHOW(tournesols)

Brassica campestris, or field cabbage,is a cruciferous plant which grows wild throughout the greater part of Europe, and is largely cultivated in France, Switzerland and Germany for the sake of colza, as the oil from its seeds is called.   I like adding a few new photos to this gallery every year. It’s my way to celebrate the seasonal meeting with this ephemeral yellow spring beauty, since colza field are in flower for only a few days and then they become quite banal greenish field of ...average high grass.

It's not strictly necessary to go to Ireland to become a rainbow chaser...