Asteraceae Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
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The aster or sunflower family (Family Asteraceae or, alternatively Family Compositae) is a taxon of dicotyledonous flowering plants. The family name comes from the Genus Aster and refers to the star-shaped flower head of its members, typified as well by the daisy. The Asteraceae is the largest family in the Magnoliophyta, with some 1,100 genera and over 20,000 recognized species. The common characteristic of all these plants—what in common parlance might be called a "flower"—is an inflorescence or flower head: a densely packed cluster of many small, individual flowers, usually called florets (meaning "small flowers").
Plants in the Family Asteraceae typically have one or both of two kinds of florets. The outer perimeter of a flower head like that of a sunflower is composed of florets possessing a long strap-like petal, termed a ligule; these are the ray florets. The inner portion of the flower head (or disc) is composed of small flowers with tubular corollass; these are the disc florets. The composition of asteraceous inflorescences varies from all ray flowers (like dandelions, genus Taraxacum) to all disc flowers (like pineapple weeds).
'') showing the individual flowers]] The composite nature of the inflorescences of these plants led early taxonomists to call this family the Compositae. Although the rules governing naming conventions for plant families state that the name should come from the type genus—in this case Aster and thus Asteraceae— the long prevailing name, Compositae, is authorized as an alternative family name (ICBN, 1999, Art. 18.6).
The numerous genera are divided into about 13 tribes. Only one of these, Lactuceae, is considered distinct enough to be a subfamily (Subfamily Cichorioideae); the remainer, which are mostly overlapping, are put in the Subfamily Asteroideae (Wagner, Herbst, and Sohmer, 1990).
Many members of Asteracae are copious nectar producers, and are useful for evaluating pollinator populations during their bloom. Centaurea (knapweed), Helianthus annuus (domestic sunflower), and some species of Solidago (goldenrod) are major "honey plants" for beekeepers. Solidago produces relatively high protein pollen, which helps honeybees overwinter.
Guayule—a source of hypoallergenic latex—is in the Asteraceae.
This is an Article on Asteraceae. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Asteraceae References
(Gnaphalium uliginosum)]]
(Inula helenium)]]
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