What is the Asteraceae family?

The Asteraceae family, also known as the aster, daisy, or composite family, is a large angiosperm family with over 1,620 genera and 25,000 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees distributed worldwide. Asteraceae is one of the largest plant families, second only to Orchidaceae. The flowers are grouped into compact inflorescences (heads) that resemble individual flowers. Many members of Asteraceae are grown as garden ornamentals, including asters , chrysanthemums , marigolds , and zinnias . Several members of Asteraceae have economic importance as food crops, including artichokes , lettuce , endive , sunflower , and safflower .

What are some common examples of Asteraceae plants?

The Asteraceae family, also known as the aster, daisy, or composite family, is a large angiosperm family with over 1,620 genera and 25,000 species. Asteraceae plants have flower heads made up of many small flowers, known as florets, surrounded by bracts. Examples of Asteraceae plants: * Ageratum * Arnica * Artemisia (sagebrush, tarragon, wormwood) * Aster * Basket-flower * Blanketflower * Burdock * Cardoon * Chamomile * Chicory * China aster * Chrysanthemum * Cocklebur * Coneflower * Cosmos * Dahlia * Dandelion * Edelweiss * Endive * Eupatorium * Fleabane * Florist’s cineraria * Goldenrod * Groundsel * Guayule * Hawkweed * Ironweed * Knapweed * Leopard’s bane * Lettuce * Liatris * Marigold * Oxeye daisy * Pot marigold * Pussy-toes * Ragweed * Rosinweed * Safflower * Salsify * Sneezeweed * Stevia * Sunflower * Tansy * Tarweed * Tickseed * White snakeroot * Yarrow * Zinnia Many members of Asteraceae are grown as garden ornamentals, while others, such as lettuce, sunflower, and safflower, are cultivated as food crops.

What are the main features that help identify Asteraceae plants?

The Asteraceae family, also known as the aster, daisy, or composite family, is characterized by several key features. The most obvious is their compact inflorescences (heads) that resemble individual flowers. These heads are typically surrounded by an involucre of small, modified leaves called bracts. The flower heads are composed of many small flowers, called florets. These heads can be discoid, radiate, disciform, or ligulate, depending on the types of flowers they contain. The leaves can be simple or compound and arranged alternately or oppositely along the stem. The sepals are reduced to a ring of hairs, scales, or bristles called the pappus on the mature fruit. The one-seeded fruit is an achene with a hard outer covering.

How do the flowers of Asteraceae plants differ from those of other plant families?

The flowers of Asteraceae plants are grouped into compact heads, or inflorescences, that resemble single flowers. These heads are subtended by an involucre of small, modified leaves called bracts. In many Asteraceae, the outermost flowers of the head have a flat, elongated corolla that looks like a petal of a regular flower. Each head can have over 1,000 individual flowers, known as florets, which may be arranged into more complex structures. Petals are joined, forming tubular or strap-shaped corollas, and the sepals are highly modified into a structure called a pappus. In contrast, the flowers of Lamiales, another plant order, often exhibit bilaterally symmetrical flowers. For example, the Acanthaceae family within Lamiales features a specialized seed-dispersal mechanism where seeds are forcibly ejected from the plant.

Where are Asteraceae plants most commonly found in the world?

The Asteraceae family, also known as the aster, daisy, or composite family, is a large group of flowering plants with over 1,620 genera and 25,000 species. Asteraceae plants are distributed throughout the world. Many members of this family are grown as garden ornamentals, food crops, or herbs because of their attractive composite flowers. Paleobotanists believe the first members of this family evolved in Argentina around 50 million years ago.

What are some important uses of Asteraceae plants in food, medicine, or gardening?

The Asteraceae family, also known as the aster, daisy, or sunflower family, has several economically important uses. As food crops, artichokes , lettuce , endive, and salsify are commonly eaten as vegetables. The edible seeds of safflower and sunflower are used in the production of cooking oils. Stevia can be processed into powdered, noncaloric sweeteners. Chamomile tea is used as a tonic and antiseptic, and in many herbal remedies. Extracts from wormwood are used to expel intestinal worms, and a sesquiterpene extracted from A. annua is increasingly used to treat quinine-resistant malaria. Many members of Asteraceae are grown as garden ornamentals, including asters , chrysanthemums , cosmos, dahlias , marigolds , and zinnias.

Asteraceae

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Four bright pink garden cosmos flowers (Cosmos bipinnatus) with yellow centers bloom against a background of green feathery foliage.

Closeup of a bumblebee (Bombus bimaculatus) feeding on the purple bloom of a Canada thistle at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan.

Close-up of three bright yellow Gazania flowers with dark ring patterns near their centers, surrounded by green leaves.

A fully open dahlia blossom with red, yellow, and white petals is shown next to a closed flower bud, set against a blurred green background.

At a Glance

aster family summary

Asteraceae

plant family

Also known as: Compositae, aster family, composite family, daisy family(Show More)

Written and fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

History

Top Questions

What is the Asteraceae family?
The Asteraceae family, also known as the aster, daisy, or composite family, is a large angiosperm family with over 1,620 genera and 25,000 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees distributed worldwide. Asteraceae is one of the largest plant families, second only to Orchidaceae.

The flowers are grouped into compact inflorescences (heads) that resemble individual flowers. Many members of Asteraceae are grown as garden ornamentals, including asters, chrysanthemums, marigolds, and zinnias. Several members of Asteraceae have economic importance as food crops, including artichokes, lettuce, endive, sunflower, and safflower.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some common examples of Asteraceae plants?
The Asteraceae family, also known as the aster, daisy, or composite family, is a large angiosperm family with over 1,620 genera and 25,000 species. Asteraceae plants have flower heads made up of many small flowers, known as florets, surrounded by bracts.

Examples of Asteraceae plants:
* Ageratum
* Arnica
* Artemisia (sagebrush, tarragon, wormwood)
* Aster
* Basket-flower
* Blanketflower
* Burdock
* Cardoon
* Chamomile
* Chicory
* China aster
* Chrysanthemum
* Cocklebur
* Coneflower
* Cosmos
* Dahlia
* Dandelion
* Edelweiss
* Endive
* Eupatorium
* Fleabane
* Florist’s cineraria
* Goldenrod
* Groundsel
* Guayule
* Hawkweed
* Ironweed
* Knapweed
* Leopard’s bane
* Lettuce
* Liatris
* Marigold
* Oxeye daisy
* Pot marigold
* Pussy-toes
* Ragweed
* Rosinweed
* Safflower
* Salsify
* Sneezeweed
* Stevia
* Sunflower
* Tansy
* Tarweed
* Tickseed
* White snakeroot
* Yarrow
* Zinnia

Many members of Asteraceae are grown as garden ornamentals, while others, such as lettuce, sunflower, and safflower, are cultivated as food crops.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are the main features that help identify Asteraceae plants?
The Asteraceae family, also known as the aster, daisy, or composite family, is characterized by several key features. The most obvious is their compact inflorescences (heads) that resemble individual flowers. These heads are typically surrounded by an involucre of small, modified leaves called bracts.

The flower heads are composed of many small flowers, called florets. These heads can be discoid, radiate, disciform, or ligulate, depending on the types of flowers they contain. The leaves can be simple or compound and arranged alternately or oppositely along the stem. The sepals are reduced to a ring of hairs, scales, or bristles called the pappus on the mature fruit. The one-seeded fruit is an achene with a hard outer covering.
2 Britannica Sources
1. list of plants in the family Asteraceae
2. Asteraceae
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do the flowers of Asteraceae plants differ from those of other plant families?
The flowers of Asteraceae plants are grouped into compact heads, or inflorescences, that resemble single flowers. These heads are subtended by an involucre of small, modified leaves called bracts. In many Asteraceae, the outermost flowers of the head have a flat, elongated corolla that looks like a petal of a regular flower.

Each head can have over 1,000 individual flowers, known as florets, which may be arranged into more complex structures. Petals are joined, forming tubular or strap-shaped corollas, and the sepals are highly modified into a structure called a pappus.

In contrast, the flowers of Lamiales, another plant order, often exhibit bilaterally symmetrical flowers. For example, the Acanthaceae family within Lamiales features a specialized seed-dispersal mechanism where seeds are forcibly ejected from the plant.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Where are Asteraceae plants most commonly found in the world?
The Asteraceae family, also known as the aster, daisy, or composite family, is a large group of flowering plants with over 1,620 genera and 25,000 species. Asteraceae plants are distributed throughout the world. Many members of this family are grown as garden ornamentals, food crops, or herbs because of their attractive composite flowers. Paleobotanists believe the first members of this family evolved in Argentina around 50 million years ago.
2 Britannica Sources
1. list of economically important members of the family Asteraceae
2. Asteraceae
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some important uses of Asteraceae plants in food, medicine, or gardening?
The Asteraceae family, also known as the aster, daisy, or sunflower family, has several economically important uses.

As food crops, artichokes, lettuce, endive, and salsify are commonly eaten as vegetables. The edible seeds of safflower and sunflower are used in the production of cooking oils. Stevia can be processed into powdered, noncaloric sweeteners.

Chamomile tea is used as a tonic and antiseptic, and in many herbal remedies. Extracts from wormwood are used to expel intestinal worms, and a sesquiterpene extracted from A. annua is increasingly used to treat quinine-resistant malaria.

Many members of Asteraceae are grown as garden ornamentals, including asters, chrysanthemums, cosmos, dahlias, marigolds, and zinnias.
5 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Asteraceae, large angiosperm family (order Asterales) comprising more than 1,620 genera and 25,000 species of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees distributed throughout the world. Known as the aster, daisy, or composite family, Asteraceae is one of the largest plant families, second only to Orchidaceae. Paleobotanists suggest that the first members of this family may have evolved in Argentina some 50 million years ago, based on the discovery of well-preserved fossils that date to the Eocene Epoch (56 million to 33.9 million years ago).

Economic importance

Asteraceae is important primarily for its many garden ornamentals, such as ageratums, asters, chrysanthemums, cosmos, dahlias, marigolds (Tagetes), and zinnias. Other well-known garden plants and wildflowers include Boltonia, Brachycome, burdock (Arctium), butterbur (Petasites), Calendula, cat’s ear (Hypochoeris), cudweed (Filago and Gnaphalium), Gerbera, hawksbeard (Crepis), Inula, Matricaria, and Piqueria. Some genera include noxious weeds, such as dandelion (Taraxacum), ragweed (Ambrosia), and thistle (Carduus, Cirsium, and others).

Several other members of Asteraceae have economic importance as food crops. Artichokes (Cynara), lettuce (Lactuca), endive (Cichorium), and salsify (Tragopogon) are commonly eaten as vegetables, and the edible seeds of safflower (Carthamus), and sunflower (Helianthus) are used in the production of cooking oils. Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) can be processed into powdered, noncaloric sweeteners. Wormwood (Artemisia) is the source of the poisonous oil used to give the liqueur absinthe its distinctive character. See also list of economically important members of the family Asteraceae.

Asteraceae

Economic importance

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