ASTERACEAE - SUNFLOWER FAMILY
Scientific Description:
Annual, biennial or perennial herbs or sometimes shrubs, tissues lactiferous or not. Leaves alternate or sometimes opposite, exstipulate (rarely stipuloid), entire, toothed, lobed or variously dissected. Individual flowers usually numerous (rarely only 1), sessile and aggregated into a capitulum surrounded by a protective involucre of 1-many series of phyllaries (involucral bracts), rarely fused; capitula sometimes aggregated into a secondary capitulum-like head (pseudocephalium). Receptacle naked or bearing paleae (scales), long hairs or bristles. Flowers (florets) epigynous, either all hermaphrodite and protandrous, or female, male (at least functionally so), or neuter (sterile). Calyx represented on apex of ovary by a pappus (enlarging in fruit) of hairs, bristles, scales or awns, or by a ± continuous corona (crown); pappus sometimes completely absent. Corolla gamopetalous, tubular (infundibular, or narrowly cylindrical below and campanulate above), filiform, ligulate or rarely bilabiate, usually 3−or 5−toothed; rarely absent. Stamens (4−)5, epipetalous, filaments usually free; anthers laterally united into a cylinder round the style (i.e. syngenesious), rarely free; dehiscence introrse. Ovary inferior, 1-celled, with 1 basal anatropous ovule; style usually divided above into 2 branches, the styles of the disc flowers often bearing collecting (brush) hairs that sweep the pollen from the anther cylinder. Fruit an achene (cypsela), usually bearing a persistent or deciduous pappus that is sessile or borne on a beak (rostrum).
Reference:
Davis PH (1975). Asteraceae, In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 5: 1.
Public Description:
“Sunflower family” contains herbs, shrubs, or less commonly trees, has a worldwide distribution which also known as “aster”, “daisy” or “composite”. The Latin name "Asteraceae" is derived from the type genus Aster L. which is a Greek term that means "star". "Compositae", an older but still valid name, means "composite" and refers to the characteristic inflorescence which is combination of dozen or hundreds of small flowers that look like a single flower.The Asteraceae family is the largest family with over 32500 species in the world. The sunflowerare an economically important family, providing products such as cooking oils, lettuce, sunflower seeds, artichokes, sweetening agents, coffee substitutes and herbal teas. Several genera are of horticultural importance.
References:
Anonymous 1 (2016). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteraceae, Accessed date: 05.01.2016.
Anonymous 2 (2017). State of the world’s plant, E-pdf: Royal Botanic Garden, Kew.
