Sunflowers in an ordered universe,
By Richard Cretcher

Now is the time to honor the larger showy wildflowers that bloom in the fall. Two of them are considered the “flowers of the sun,” and have the Mexican/Spanish common names mirasol and girasol.

The mirasol or cosmos was named after the Greek word for harmony or ordered universe by Spanish priests who grew them in their early mission gardens in Mexico. 

The flower that grows along the highway or even takes over full fields can occur in color from white to purple, but is most commonly lavender/pink. Cosmos are popular as cut flowers here and arrangements can last seven to ten days. The self-seeding plant is considered a noxious weed in some areas of the United States.

It is difficult to think of this beautiful plant and flower as a weed, but I can remember pulling many cosmos plants from our vegetable garden in Ohio to prevent it from taking over. The plant grows well in hot dry locations and often flowers better in poor soil. 

The golden girasol is the second flower featured this week. Although often called the Mexican sunflower by foreigners, its English common name is tithonia. It is a relative of the true Mexican sunflower, which is more orange or red and is called fiesta del sol in Mexico. Both of these flowers are a Tithonia genus while sunflowers in the US are Helianthus. The girasoles along our roadways this year are tall and somewhat tattered by insects. It remains to be seen if their beautiful large flowers will brighten our autumn days.

Other wildflowers blooming now include muela de caballo, buenamoza, fraile and hierba de la vibora.

Richard Cretcher published the wildflower pocket guide Flores Silvestres that is available at the Biblioteca tienda, El Charco, El Tecolote, Border Crossings, La Conexión and Terra.