The family Asteraceae or, alternatively, family Compositae, known as the aster, daisy or sunflower family, is a taxon of dicotyledonous flowering plants. The family name is derived from the genus Aster and refers to the star-shaped flower head of its members, typified well by the daisy. The Asteraceae is the second largest family in the Division Magnoliophyta, with some 1,100 genera and over 20,000 recognized species. Only the orchid family (Orchidaceae) is larger, with about 25,000 described species.

Plants belonging to the Asteraceae share all the following characteristics (Judd et al., 1999). None of these traits, taken separately, can be considered synapomorphic.

• Inflorescence: a capitulum or flower head
• Syngenesious anthers, i.e. with the stamens fused together at their edges by the anthers, forming a tube
• Ovary with basal arrangement of the ovules
• Ovules one per ovary
• Pappus (a tuft of hairs on a fruit)
• The fruit is an achene
• Sesquiterpenes present in the essential oils, but iridoids lacking.

The most common characteristic of all these plants is an inflorescence or flower head; a densely packed cluster of many small, individual flowers, usually called florets (meaning "small flowers").

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@hernesheir Oh, that's right. Asteraceae. That makes for two more unexpectedly powerful symbols or connections.
ruzuzu (Maya Zuzu) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:53:57 -0000
@hernesheir Oh, that's right. Asteraceae. That makes for two more unexpectedly powerful symbols or connections.
RT @USWildflowers: An Exemplary Member of Asteraceae - http://bit.ly/CZhi4 http://twitpic.com/ocm09
preskittgurl (Cynthia White) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:55:52 -0000
RT @USWildflowers: An Exemplary Member of Asteraceae - http://bit.ly/CZhi4 http://twitpic.com/ocm09
An Exemplary Member of Asteraceae - http://bit.ly/CZhi4 http://twitpic.com/ocm09
USWildflowers (USWildflowers.com) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:07:55 -0000
An Exemplary Member of Asteraceae - http://bit.ly/CZhi4 http://twitpic.com/ocm09
2008 08 12 - 1742 - Kyiv - Asteraceae http://bit.ly/27xUZR
tmgrigg75 (Tonya Grigg) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:00:39 -0000
2008 08 12 - 1742 - Kyiv - Asteraceae http://bit.ly/27xUZR
Sonnenhut - gelbe Staude - 50 Samen - 0,80 EUR: Rudbeckia fulgida Aiton (Asteraceae, Compositae, Korbbltler) So.. http://bit.ly/1D0F78
Westauktionen (WESTO_Online) Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:04:30 -0000
Sonnenhut - gelbe Staude - 50 Samen - 0,80 EUR: Rudbeckia fulgida Aiton (Asteraceae, Compositae, Korbbltler) So.. http://bit.ly/1D0F78
New species of Neotropical Melanagromyza (Diptera: Agromyzidae) from Asteraceae, http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/list/2009/zt02279.html
Zootaxa (Zhi-Qiang Zhang) Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:37:28 -0000
New species of Neotropical Melanagromyza (Diptera: Agromyzidae) from Asteraceae, http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/list/2009/zt02279.html

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