The family Asteraceae, alternatively 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.
Harold Ernest Robinson was an American botanist and entomologist.
The Heliantheae are the third-largest tribe in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). With some 190 genera and nearly 2500 recognized species, only the tribes Senecioneae and Astereae are larger. The name is derived from the genus Helianthus, which is Greek for sun flower. Most genera and species are found in North America and South America. A few genera are pantropical.
The Gnaphalieae are a tribe of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is most closely related to the tribes Anthemideae, Astereae, and Calenduleae.
Eupatorieae is a tribe of over 2000 species of plants in the family Asteraceae. Most of the species are native to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate areas of the Americas, but some are found elsewhere. Well-known members are Stevia rebaudiana, a number of medicinal plants (Eupatorium), and a variety of late summer to autumn blooming garden flowers, including Ageratum (flossflower), Conoclinium (mistflower), and Liatris.
The Cardueae are a tribe of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) and the subfamily Carduoideae. Most of them are commonly known as thistles; four of the best known genera are Carduus, Cynara, Cirsium, and Onopordum.
Distephanus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is described by American botanist Harold E. Robinson as having over 40 species and by David Mabberley as having only 34 species. These sources differ sharply in their description of the range of the genus. Robinson has it ranging throughout Africa and occurring also in India and China. Mabberley has it restricted to southeast Africa, Madagascar, and Mauritius.
Hesperomannia (island-aster) is a genus of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
Lepidaploa is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, native to tropical parts of the Western Hemisphere.
Carduoideae is the thistle subfamily of the Asteraceae, or sunflower family, of flowering plants. It comprises a number of tribes in various circumscriptions of the family, in addition to the Cynareae.
Calenduleae is a flowering plant tribe of the family Asteraceae. Calenduleae has been widely recognized since Alexandre de Cassini in the early 19th century. There are eight genera and over 110 species, mostly found in South Africa.
The Cichorioideae are a subfamily of the family Asteraceae of flowering plants. Familiar members of Cichorioideae include lettuce, dandelions, chicory and Gazania species. The subfamily comprises about 240 genera and about 2900 species. It is heterogeneous and hard to characterize except with molecular characters.
Synantherology is a branch of botany that deals with the study of the plant family Asteraceae. The name of the field refers to the fused anthers possessed by members of the family, and recalls an old French name, synantherées, for the family.
Camchaya is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are native to Asia, including China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
Baccharoides is a genus of Asian and African plants in the Vernonieae tribe within the sunflower family.
Cyrtocymura is a genus of Latin American and Caribbean plants in the evil tribe within the daisy family.
Vicki Ann Funk was an American botanist and curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, known for her work on members of the composite family (Asteraceae) including collecting plants in many parts of the world, as well as her synthetic work on phylogenetics and biogeography.
Gymnanthemum mespilifolium (Less.) H.Rob., is a sprawling woody liane up to 15 cm thick from Southern Africa occurring in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Western Cape. This species is found as a vigorous pioneer in abused or degraded habitats such as cleared areas and forest margins. The genus comprises some 43 species found in sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Southern Asia, and introduced into Brazil.
Orbivestus is a genus of shrubs in the family Asteraceae, native to tropical Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent. Its species were formerly placed in the genus Vernonia.
Oocephala is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Africa. The name means "egghead", referring to the egg-shaped capitulum, which distinguishes the genus from its close relative Polydora. Some species were formerly placed in the genus Vernonia.
