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Narrative
Composite or Daisy or Aster Family (Compositae or Asteraceae) is a huge family of perhaps over 20,000 species. Sometimes the Chicory portion of this family is treated as a separate family. Here the Chicory group is treated as the most advanced tribe in the Composite Family. (The tribes are as suggested by Lawrence in his book, Taxonomy of Vascular Plants.)
Many species of this family are characterized by large flower heads composed of many very small flowers and leaves that appear as petals (bracts). These cause the large flower heads to appear as a single large flower. The center of the "flower" of a common sunflower contains a multitude of tiny flowers.
To facilitate study of this large and complicated family, the Composites are usually broken down into different tribes:
1 - Vernoninae
2 - Eupatorieae
3 - Astereae Asters and Goldenrods, etc.
4 - Inuleae
5 - Heliantheae Sunflowers, etc.
6 - Helenieae
7 - Anthemideae
8 - Senecioneae
11 - Cynareae Thistles
13 - Cichoriacea Dandelions
There are over 20,000 species arranged in about 1,300 genera in this family.
As of 1994, there were about 2,700 species in almost 400 genera either native to or established in greater North America, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Hawaii, and Greenland.
Taxonomy
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Latin
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English
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Kingdom
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Plantae
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Plant
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Phylum
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Embryophyta
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Seed Plants
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Class
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Dicotyledoneae
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Dicots
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Order
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Campanulatae
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Composites - Bellflowers And Allies
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Family
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Compositae
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Daisy
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SubFamily
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References
| Title | Author | Comments |
| Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest - Part 5: Compositae | Hitchock, C. Leo | This is the fifth and final volume of the Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. These five volumes have been condensed into a single Flora of the Pacific Northwest. The condensed Flora provides reduced line drawings and much information. The Vascular Plant series provides additonal information on synonyms, other informaiton, and more detailed line drawings. This volume covers the Composite Family which includes such genera as Aster, Erigeron, Solidago, Senecio, Helianthus, and Bidens (Asters, daisies, goldenrods, sunflowers, and tickseeds.) |
| Common Plants of the Mid-Atlantic Coast - A Field Guide | Silberhorn, Gene M. | The black and white line drawings suffice to identify those species of plants growing along the coast. |
| Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Northeastern and North Central North America | Peterson, Roger Tory | This field guide covers 1,293 species which are illustrated with 1,344 line drawings some of which have been colored. The area covered is from Quebec to Minnesota and south to Missouri and Virginia. This work is a most useful book for identification of weeds and wildflowers of the eastern United States. The line drawings highlight the features that separate similar species and the species are grouped by flower color and flower shape. This work stands in tribute to the genius of Roger Tory Peterson. |
| Newcomb's Wildflower Guide | Newcomb, Lawrence | Wildflowers, Shrubs, and Vines of northeastern and north central North America are covered. 1,375 different species are covered. |
| Western Trees | Petrides, George A. | Nearly 400 species of native trees and shrubs found in the western United States and Canada are pictured and described. |
| Trees of Georgia and Adjacent states | Brown, Claud L. | This book covers 205 species of trees found in Georgia and adjacent states. This book is very useful in that it provides a list with text and supporting pictures of the tress of the area. |
| The Color Dictionary of Shrubs | Gault, S. Millar | With about 500 color pictures of various shrubs this gardeners book is an aid to planning a garden. This book can also ber used for identifying various shrubs and bushes. |
| Trees of North America and Europe | Phillips, Roger | This is a truly excellent book for the identification of trees. Two close up pictures of each species are typically provided. The pictures are excellent showing the details needed for accurate identification. |
| What Flower is That? | Macoboy, Stirling | With over 1,800 full color pictures, this book helps the sophisticated gardener identify and know most species of plants. |
| Atlas of the Flora of the Great Plains | McGregor, R.L. | Distribution maps of great detail are shown for all species of plants found in the great plains of the United States. Over 2200 species are covered. |
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