What are disk flowers in the Asteraceae family?

In the Asteraceae family, disk flowers (also known as disk florets) are small, tubular flowers that typically form the center of a flower head.12

These flowers are characterized by a regular, tubular corolla that generally features four or five apical teeth, which represent the tips of the petals. In many species, such as those with radiate heads (like a sunflower), these disk flowers are surrounded by marginal ray flowers. In other species, known as having discoid heads (such as thistles), the entire head may consist solely of disk flowers.3

Typically, disk flowers are perfect (bisexual) and fertile, though in some radiate heads, they may be functionally staminate. They are a fundamental component of the family's compact inflorescences, which are often mistaken for individual flowers.3