The family Asteraceae, with the original name Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae were first described in the year 1740. 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.
Verbascum is a genus of over 450 species of flowering plants, common name mullein, in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae. They are native to Europe and Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean.
Saponaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Asia and Europe, and are commonly known as soapworts. They are herbaceous perennials and annuals, some with woody bases. The flowers are abundant, five-petalled and usually in shades of pink or white. The genus is closely related to the genus Silene, being distinguished from these by having only two styles in the flower. It is also related to Gypsophila, but its calyx is cylindrical rather than bell-shaped.
Onopordum, or cottonthistle, is a genus of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. They are native to southern Europe, northern Africa, the Canary Islands, the Caucasus, and southwest and central Asia. They grow on disturbed land, roadsides, arable land and pastures.
Origanum is a genus of herbaceous perennials and subshrubs in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe, North Africa, and much of temperate Asia, where they are found in open or mountainous habitats. A few species also naturalized in scattered locations in North America and other regions.
Lapsana is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe and northern Asia. Nipplewort is a common name for plants in this genus.
Mentha longifolia, also known as horse mint, brookmint, fillymint or St. John's horsemint, is a species of plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to Europe excluding Britain and Ireland, western and central Asia, and northern and southern Africa.
Tripleurospermum inodorum, common names scentless false mayweed, scentless mayweed, scentless chamomile, and Baldr's brow, is the type species of Tripleurospermum. This plant is native to Eurasia and North Africa, and introduced to North America, where it is commonly found in fields, fallow land and gardens.
Fraxinus angustifolia, the narrow-leaved ash, is a species of Fraxinus native to Central Europe and Southern Europe, Northwest Africa, and Southwest Asia.
Teucrium scorodonia, common name the woodland germander or wood sage, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Teucrium of the family Lamiaceae. It is native to Western Europe and Tunisia, but cultivated in many places as an ornamental plant in gardens, and naturalized in several regions.
Hedysarum (sweetvetch) is a genus of the botanical family Fabaceae, consisting of about 200 species of annual or perennial herbs in Asia, Europe, North Africa, and North America.
Bellis annua, the annual daisy, is a small daisy species native to Mediterranean countries eastward to Iran.
Helminthotheca echioides, known as bristlyoxtongue, is a sprawling annual or biennial herb native to Europe and North Africa. It was originally placed within the genus Picris but is often separated within the small genus Helminthotheca alongside a few other plants which also have the distinctive outer row of bracts around the flowerheads. It is a ruderal plant, found on waste ground and agricultural soils around the world, and in some places it is considered a troublesome weed.
Polyarrhena is a genus of low, branching shrublets that is assigned to the daisy family. Its stems are alternately and densely set with entire or somewhat toothed leaves. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in typical heads, and which are surrounded by an involucre of in this case three whorls of bracts. In Polyarrhena, the centre of the head is taken by yellow disc florets, and is surrounded by one single whorl of white ligulate florets that have a pinkish-purple wash on the underside. These florets sit on a common base and are not individually subtended by a bract. The species occur in the Cape Floristic Region. Polyarrhena reflexa has long been cultivated as an ornamental and is often known under its synonym Aster reflexum.
Trifolium fucatum is a species of clover known by the common names bull clover and sour clover. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in many types of habitat, becoming common to abundant in some areas. It is an edible species of clover.
Astrantia major, the great masterwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to central and eastern Europe. Growing up to 90 cm (35 in) tall by 45 cm (18 in) broad, it is an herbaceous perennial, much used in gardens.
Gorteria diffusa is a highly variable, small annual herbaceous plant or rarely a shrublet that is assigned to the daisy family. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in typical heads, and are surrounded by an involucre, consisting of in this case several whorls of bracts, which are merged at their base. In G. diffusa, the centre of the head is taken by relatively few male and bisexual yellow to orange disc florets, and is surrounded by one complete whorl of 5–14 infertile cream to dark orange ray florets, sometimes with a few ray florets nearer to the centre. None, some or all of them may have darker spots at their base. The fruits remain attached to their common base when ripe, and it is the entire head that breaks free from the plant. One or few seeds germinate inside the flower head which can be found at the foot of plants during their first year. The species flowers between August and October. It is called beetle daisy in English and katoog in Afrikaans. It can be found in Namibia and South Africa.
Pseudopodospermum libanoticum, also known as Lebanese salsify and Lebanese viper's grass, is a species of perennial plant in the family Asteraceae.
Helianthus nuttallii subsp. parishii is a subspecies of the species Helianthus nuttallii in the genus Helianthus, family Asteraceae. It is also known by the common names Los Angeles sunflower and Parish's sunflower. This subspecies has not been seen, in the wild or in cultivation, since 1937.
Lomelosia is a genus of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae and the subfamily of Dipsacoideae. The genus includes over 50-63, perennial and annual species, diffused around the Mediterranean Sea, with the greatest diversity of species concentrated in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, and also has a few species reaching as far east as China.
