NOTES. 115 



NOTE IV. 



ON THE SUNFLOWER OF THE CLASSICS. 



I have been much puzzled to know what was the 

 Sunflower of classical story, in other words, what was 

 the flower into which, according to the legend, Clytie was 

 so sadly changed. 



I had always supposed, as nearly every one supposes, 

 that it was what we call the Sunflower (the Helianthus), 

 with its upright stem and large radiated disc. But, first 

 of all, I found, as a matter of fact, that the Helianthus 

 does not follow the course of the Sun, and that various 

 blossoms of the same plant may at the same time be 

 facing in different directions. And then I found, what 

 of course was fatal, that the Helianthus is not a European 

 plant at all, and first came to us from North America. 



Having consulted Notes and Queries in vain, I deter- 

 mined to look into the matter more closely, as it seemed 

 to me a rather curious question. 



If the Sunflower of the Classics was not the Helianthus, 

 and if this, as I imagine, only obtained its name from its 

 flowers, which in some way resemble the old pictures of 

 the Sun, could it be the plant we know as Heliotrope 1 

 The name of course means " turning Sunward," but again 

 the name is no guide to us ; the scented flowers of the 

 Heliotrope do not, so far as I know, turn to the Sun, and 

 in any case the plant is of Peruvian and not of European 

 origin. 



