Asteraceae

Not to be confused with Astraeaceae, a family of fungi.

Asteraceae
Temporal range: 76–0 Ma Campanian[1]–recent
refer to caption
Twelve species of Asteraceae from the subfamilies Asteroideae, Carduoideae, and Cichorioideae
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Bercht. & J.Presl[2]
Type genus
Aster
Subfamilies[3]
Diversity[4]
1,911 genera
Synonyms[5]
List
  • Compositae Giseke
  • Acarnaceae Link
  • Ambrosiaceae Bercht. & J.Presl
  • Anthemidaceae Bercht. & J.Presl
  • Aposeridaceae Raf.
  • Arctotidaceae Bercht. & J.Presl
  • Artemisiaceae Martinov
  • Athanasiaceae Martinov
  • Calendulaceae Bercht. & J.Presl
  • Carduaceae Bercht. & J.Presl
  • Cassiniaceae Sch.Bip.
  • Cichoriaceae Juss.
  • Coreopsidaceae Link
  • Cynaraceae Spenn.
  • Echinopaceae Bercht. & J.Presl
  • Eupatoriaceae Bercht. & J.Presl
  • Helichrysaceae Link
  • Inulaceae Bercht. & J.Presl
  • Lactucaceae Drude
  • Mutisiaceae Burnett
  • Partheniaceae Link
  • Perdiciaceae Link
  • Senecionaceae Bercht. & J.Presl
  • Vernoniaceae Burmeist.

Asteraceae (/ˌæstəˈreɪsi.iː, -ˌaɪ/) is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. 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. The Asteraceae were first described in the year 1740 and given the original name Compositae.[6] The family is commonly known as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family.

Most species of Asteraceae are herbaceous plants, and may be annual, biennial, or perennial, 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 common primary characteristic is compound 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 become weedy or invasive.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference PNAS2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference tropicos was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference PlantList was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference GRIN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference BarkleyEtAl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).