More than a decade ago, the Missouri Department of Conservation planted helianthus annuus, or sunflower, fields at Columbia Bottom Conservation Area to attract doves.
“They were timed so that they would have that seed base by Sept. 1, or before, to draw on doves for dove hunting,” said Dan Zarlenga, Missouri Department of Conservation media specialist. “When you plant the sunflower, it takes about 60 days to mature into a flower, and then the flower is a flower, as we recognize it, for about 10 days or so. Eventually that wilts away, but that produces seeds. When those seeds drop, they provide food that attracts doves.”
When the general public began to see the 7-foot-tall daisies – yes, sunflowers are in the daisy family – as a gorgeous backdrop for photo shoots, Columbia Bottom took notice and began planting additional fields outside of the ones for dove hunting.
Zarlenga said that social media drove attention and visitors to the area. The 4,300 acres of yellow giants already covered 14 fields and now include areas near the visitor’s center and highways. The staff also started to stagger the planting of each field by two weeks so that sunflowers are blooming from early July through mid-August.
“It's amazing for people who love to watch sunflowers — for photographers who love a backdrop with repeating patterns and very interesting colors,” Zarlenga said. “It's really an ideal opportunity.”
Even though this year’s exceptionally wet spring caused a slight delay to the planting season, many of the sunflowers have begun their 10-day blooming period — attracting animals and humans alike.
The sunflower fields are an essential part of the Columbia Bottom ecosystem, providing both food and shelter to native animal and insect species.
“Lots of other wildlife benefit from those seeds — lots of other birds, lots of other mammals. The other thing that sunflowers are good for is attracting pollinators, from bees to butterflies to moths,” Zarlenga said. “Those insects that are drawn to those sunflowers now draw predatory animals [that eat] those insects. So it's really kind of a cycle of life thing.”
The significance of sunflowers in North America goes deep into the past. Records show Native Americans cultivating sunflowers as early as 3,000 years ago. Zarlenga said sunflowers are the largest and most important native crop in North America, largely due to their versatility in the wild and production of seeds and sunflower oil for human consumption.
The sunflowers at Columbia Bottom will be in bloom until mid-August. Zarlenga said visitors should be prepared to encounter large crowds of people, wildlife including birds, coyotes, racoons, rabbits, bobcats — and plenty of insects.
“Definitely put on some DEET, picaridin or whatever your favorite insect repellent is,” he said.
Columbia Bottom Conservation Area is open every day from a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset.
To learn more about sunflowers and their role in the ecosystem, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
