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.
Centaurea is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding regions are particularly species-rich.
Centaurea scabiosa, or greater knapweed, is a perennial plant of the genus Centaurea. It is native to Europe and bears purple flower heads.
Scolymus is a genus of annual, biennial or perennial, herbaceous plants that is assigned to the family Asteraceae, and can be found in Macaronesia, around the Mediterranean, and in the Middle East. All species are spiny, thistle-like in appearance, with flowerheads that consist of yellow ligulate florets, and canals that contain latex. It is sometimes called golden thistle or oyster thistle, and is known as سكوليمس (skwlyms) in Arabic and scolyme in French.
Gerbera L. is a genus of plants in the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. The first scientific description of a Gerbera was made by J. D. Hooker in Curtis's Botanical Magazine in 1889 when he described Gerbera jamesonii, a South African species also known as Transvaal daisy or Barberton daisy. Gerbera is also commonly known as the African daisy.
Wachendorfia is a genus of perennial herbaceous plants that is assigned to the bloodroot family. The plants have a perennial rootstock with red sap. From the rootstock emerge lance- or line-shaped, sometime sickle-shaped, pleated, simple leaves set in a fan, that are flattened to create a left and right surface rather than an upper and lower surface. The leaves die when the seeds are shed in three of the species, and are perennial in one species. The rootstock also produces flowering stems annually that carry a panicle of zygomorphic, yellow or yellowish flowers in two distinct forms, one with the style and one stamen bent to the right and two stamens to the left, and vice versa. The fruit opens with three valves and each contains a single, hairy seed. All species only occur in the fynbos biome in the Cape Provinces of South Africa.
Rhaponticum is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. As of November 2023, it is accepted by Plants of the World Online, but rejected by the Global Compositae Database in favour of Leuzea.
Centaurea virgata is a species of Centaurea. It is native to Western Asia. The subspecies C. virgata subsp. squarrosa is known as squarrose knapweed.
Centaurea nigra is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names lesser knapweed, common knapweed and black knapweed. A local vernacular name is hardheads.
Hymenonema is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae endemic to Greece. On each of the single or few stems, the species have one to three flowerheads consisting of yellow or yolk yellow ligulate florets, scaly pappus, greyish, pinnately segmented leaves in a basal rosette, and few smaller leaves on the 20–70 cm high stems. It contains two species: Hymenonema graecum, that is known from the Cyclades, and Hymenonema laconicum, which occurs in the central and south-eastern Peloponnesos.
Carpesium is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae. They are distributed in Europe and Asia; most occur in China and several are endemic to the country.
Rhaponticum scariosum, common name giant scabiosa, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant of the genus Rhaponticum of the family Asteraceae.
Rheum rhaponticum, the false rhubarb, rhapontic rhubarb or rhapontic, is a plant species in the genus Rheum found in the wild. It is the only Rheum species found only in Europe, and is now restricted to the Rila mountain range in south-western Bulgaria. It was introduced to other countries in Europe. It is considered to be one of the parents of the modern culinary rhubarb.
Cirsium altissimum is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. Common names are tall thistle or roadside thistle. The species is native to the eastern and Central United States.
Hymenonema graecum is a perennial herbaceous plant of 20–70 cm, that rests with its buds at or just under the surface of the soil. The Greek vernacular name is Αδραλίδα (Adralida), meaning "handsome Lida". The leaves are pinnate, and may be up to 1 cm wide. The ligulate flowers are yellow. The species is an endemic of Greece.
Hymenonema laconicum is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the Asteraceae family. It is small to average height, with a rosette of greyish pinnately segmented leaves, and little branching solid stems carrying one to three heads of orange or yolk yellow ray-flowers, with a purple anther tube, and scaly pappus. The species is an endemic of the central and south-eastern Peloponnesos, and flowers in May and June.
Pedicularis palustris, commonly known as marsh lousewort or red rattle, is a plant species in the family Orobanchaceae. It is native to central and northern Europe and Asia where it grows in wetlands and boggy habitats. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of least concern.
Nigropallidal encephalomalacia or Chewing disease is a neurological condition that affects horses that have eaten certain toxic plants. Affected animals are unable to prehend food because of lip and tongue paralysis, and may appear to keep their jaws open with the tongue protruded because of reduced jaw tone. Some horses may appear to show their upper teeth because of increased hypertonicity of the facial and upper lip muscles. Other animals may show severe depression and carrying their heads low. Because poisoned horses are unable to eat, these animals become weakened and ultimately die of starvation.
Wachendorfia paniculata is a species of plant of 10–90 cm (3.9–35.4 in) high, that emerges during the winter from an underground rootstock. It has entire, sword-shaped, mostly hairy, line- to lance-shaped, straight or sickle-shaped leaves, set in a fan at ground level with a lax to dense panicle consisting of pale apricot to yellow mirror-symmetric flowers with six tepals, three stamens and a undivided style that curves either to the right or left. The species is assigned to the bloodroot family. Flowering occurs between August and December at sea level, and until early February at high altitude, with a distinct peak from September to November. It can only be found in the Cape provinces of South Africa. Like other species of Wachendorfia, it is called butterfly lily in English and rooikanol or spinnekopblom in Afrikaans, and this species in particular is also called koffiepit in Afrikaans.
Meadow knapweed, also known as hybrid knapweed or protean knapweed, is a fertile hybrid between black knapweed and brown knapweed. The taxonomic status of the species is uncertain, and meadow knapweed has been variously described as different species.
