198 LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 
ferred his affections to Leueothoe, the daughter 
of King Orchamos, the jealous Clytia commu¬ 
nicated the affair to the father, who cruelly put 
his daughter to death. Helios was so indignant 
at the conduct of Clytia, that he could not for¬ 
give her, and wholly withdrew his affections. 
Overwhelmed with grief, she threw herself on 
the ground, and there lay for nine days and 
nights without taking any sustenance, and her 
eyes fixed on the sun, the type of her lover. At 
length, the gods, moved with compassion by her 
sorrow and contrition, transformed her into a 
Sunflower, which was believed constantly to turn 
its face towards the sun, as if to imbibe life and 
warmth from his rays. 
In its native country, Peru and Mexico, the 
Sunflower is said to grow to the height of twenty 
feet or more, and to produce flowers about two 
feet in diameter. Gerard, the first English 
writer who notices this plant, which he calls 
“ The Flower of the Sunne, or the Marigolde 
of Peru,” tells us that he had grown it in his 
garden at Holborn to the height of fourteen feet, 
and producing flowers that measured sixteen 
inches over. 
