Spermatophyta: Dicotyledonae: Metachlamydeae: Asterales

Asteraceae - Sunflower family

Compositae

Beentje, H.J. & Ghazanfar, S.A. (eds.) (2005) Compositae (Part 3) Flora of Tropical East Africa

Beentje, H.J. (ed.) (2000) Compositae (Part 1) Flora of Tropical East Africa

Beentje, H.J. (ed.) (2002) Compositae (Part 2) Flora of Tropical East Africa

Pope, G.V. (1992) Compositae Flora Zambesiaca 6(1)

Description of the family

Herbs, suffrutices, shrubs or (rarely) climbers or trees. Leaves alternate, less often opposite. Stipules 0, but false stipules occur in a few species (for example: Vernonia myriantha and Senecio deltoideus) . Flowers small (florets), aggregated into heads (capitula) and simulating single larger flowers and surrounded by a calyx-like involucre of one or more series of bracts (phyllaries). Receptacle of the head expanded, with or without receptacular scales or bristles each subtending a floret. Florets all similar sexually (head homogamous) or central and marginal florets differing (head heterogamous) and then the central florets usually bisexual or rarely male, the outer female or rarely neuter. Calyx never typically herbaceous but represented by a pappus of numerous simple or feathery (plumose) hairs, or a smaller number of membranous scales, teeth or bristles, or by a continuous membranous ring; sometimes 0.

Corolla composed of (3-)5 united petals fused into a tube below and with a distal limb consisting of either: (1) 5 actinomorphic lobes or teeth (tubular florets); or (2) a unilateral strap-shaped limb (ray) 0-3(-4)-dentate at the apex; or (3) a unilateral strap-shaped limb (ligule), 5-dentate at the apex.

Stamens 5, borne on the corolla-tube; anthers usually fused into a cylinder around the style. Ovary inferior, 1-celled, with 1 basal ovule; style single below but branching above into 2 stigmatic arms. Fruit an achene, crowned by the pappus, sometimes with a slender beak interposed between them.

Worldwide: 1,528 genera and 22,750 species, cosmopolitan, excluding Antarctica.

Zambia: 1 cultivated genus and 1 cultivated taxon.

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Links to cultivated genera:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this family

GenusContent
Tagetes L.Description

Other sources of information about Asteraceae:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Asteraceae
Flora of Caprivi: Asteraceae
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Asteraceae
Flora of Malawi: Asteraceae
Flora of Malawi: cultivated Asteraceae
Flora of Mozambique: Asteraceae
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Asteraceae
Flora of Zambia: Asteraceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: Asteraceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Asteraceae

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Asteraceae
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Asteraceae
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Asteraceae
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Asteraceae
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Asteraceae
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Asteraceae
JSTOR Plant Science: Asteraceae
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Asteraceae
Wikipedia: Asteraceae
Plants of the World Online: Asteraceae
Tropicos: Asteraceae



Copyright: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-24

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2024). Flora of Zambia: Cultivated plants: Family page: Asteraceae.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/cult/family.php?family_id=26, retrieved 28 March 2024

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