The family Asteraceae (/ˌæstəˈreɪsi.iː,-ˌaɪ/), with the original name Compositae,[6] consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae were first described in the year 1740. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger family is unclear as the quantity of extant species in each family is unknown.
Most species of Asteraceae are annual, biennial, or perennial herbaceous plants, but there are also shrubs, vines, and trees. The family has a widespread distribution, from subpolar to tropical regions, in a wide variety of habitats. Most occur in hot desert and cold or hot semi-desert climates, and they are found on every continent but Antarctica. Their primary common characteristic is flower heads, technically known as capitula, consisting of sometimes hundreds of tiny individual florets enclosed by a whorl of protective involucral bracts.
The oldest known fossils are pollen grains from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian to Maastrichtian) of Antarctica, dated to c. 76–66 million years ago (mya). It is estimated that the crown group of Asteraceae evolved at least 85.9 mya (Late Cretaceous, Santonian) with a stem node age of 88–89 mya (Late Cretaceous, Coniacian).
Asteraceae is an economically important family, providing food staples, garden plants, and herbal medicines. Species outside of their native ranges can be considered weedy or invasive.
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^Susanna, A., Baldwin, B.G., Bayer, R.J., Bonifacino, J.M., Garcia-Jacas, N., Keeley, S.C., Mandel, J.R., Ortiz, S., Robinson, H. and Stuessy, T.F. (2020), The classification of the Compositae: A tribute to Vicki Ann Funk (1947–2019). Taxon, 69: 807–814. https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.12235
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The family Asteraceae (/ˌæstəˈreɪsi.iː, -ˌaɪ/), with the original name Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1...
Britain and Ireland #7 — this page's list covers the dicotyledon family Asteraceae. Status key: * indicates an introduced species and e indicates an extinct...
Plants of the World Online listed 1,707 accepted genera in the family Asteraceae. Those genera are listed with their author citations. Taxonomic synonyms...
chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus Chrysanthemum in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate...
"dogfennel"), is a North American perennial herbaceous plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the eastern and south-central United States. It is generally...
the large family Asteraceae (or Compositae) known for composite flowers made of florets, and ten families related to the Asteraceae. While asterids in...
is a tropical and subtropical species of flowering shrub in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the Americas, from Florida and Texas in the United States...
estuary bur-marigold) is a coastal species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It grows along the coasts of Hudson Bay, the Arctic Ocean, and the North...
Cirsium vulgare). This species is an annual or biennial plant of the family Asteraceae. This fairly typical thistle has red to purple flowers and shiny pale...
perennis (/ˈbɛləs pəˈrɛnəs/), the daisy, is a European species of the family Asteraceae, often considered the archetypal species of the name daisy. To distinguish...
(Arctium nemorosum) is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Asteraceae. Its native range is Europe to Caucasus. It was first described in 1833...
emblems), followed by Fabaceae at 10% (7 emblems), and Asparagaceae, Asteraceae, and Rosaceae all at 5.7% (4 emblems each). Human impact on the environment...
also known as estragon, is a species of perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America...
is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, along with the Asteraceae. It contains about 28,000 currently accepted species distributed across...
an estimated 600 species of flowering plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The type species is Helichrysum orientale. They often go by the names...
perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. As a member of the Asteraceae (synonym name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its relatives...
Dahlia pinnata (D. × pinnata) is a species in the genus Dahlia, family Asteraceae, with the common name garden dahlia. It is the type species of the genus...
Gerbera (/ˈdʒɜːrbərə/ or /ˈɡɜːrbərə/) L. is a genus of plants in the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. The first scientific description of a Gerbera was...
parthenium, known as feverfew, is a flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. It may be grown as an ornament, and may be identified by its synonyms...
species Tidestromia (Gomphrenoideae) – 8 C4 species The composite family Asteraceae contains three C4 lineages, in two different tribes of subfamily Asteroideae...
flowering plant commonly called Indian chrysanthemum, within the family Asteraceae and genus Chrysanthemum. Chrysanthemum indicum grows up to 0.6 m (24 in)...
Ragweeds are flowering plants in the genus Ambrosia in the aster family, Asteraceae. They are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas...
species of herbaceous, annual or biennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Erigeron annuus often grows as an annual but can sometimes grow as a...
imperialis, or bell tree dahlia, is a large flowering plant of the family Asteraceae, native to the Americas. Growing between 8–10 metres (26–33 feet) tall...
characterized by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the plant – on the stem and on the flat...
: 324 grim-the-collier) is a perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae that is native to alpine regions of central and southern Europe, where...
Parthenium hysterophorus is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the American tropics. Common names include Santa-Maria...
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