Sonnenblume.

Yesterday, I stood at the office window and looked forlornly into the mass of fuzzy green leaves accumulating at the western end of the window box. What could that featherduster of a plant be? After no success with a leaf description search, I tried yellow flower, hoping that maybe I could scan through the images and determine whether the leaves were fuzzy. Then it hit me. What type of flower grows very, very tall, has bright yellow petals, and a dark center?

Holla at yo plant.

I think I have a sunflower. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but there are dwarf varieties that reach between two and three feet in height, and this one is about 28" tall. Also, the yellow petals are the only petals that are present. The other yellow highlights are from the tiny fuzzy things sprouting from the middle violet thing (so scientific, I know).

Say hello to my little friends.  

Over time, the rest of the purple bud will spring forth with tiny yellow and brown things. Then it will look much more like a sunflower and much less like an alien is growing inside of it. It really did freak me out when there was just these yellow extensions and a great big purple monster brain. H. thinks that the flower will tip over and droop without some staking, but the way it's sitting now, the blinds are doing a pretty good job of keeping it upright. Just as long as the bloom doesn't get much bigger.

Here's the video that convinced me I might be growing a sunflower: Sunflower Time Lapse. The intro is kind of boring, but right around 1:55 it gets mesmerizing. Time lapse videos are so cool.

I never knew that there were so many types of sunflowers! The purple center is really throwing me off in pinpointing which kind I have, but this website has a couple varieties listed under three feet. I must say I'm kind of sad I didn't end up with the Teddy Bear variety. Now, however, I have to research how and when sunflowers create their famous seeds, and whether these ones will be edible. We shall see!