Asteraceae or Compositae (commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family), is a very large and widespread family of flowering plants (Angiospermae). The family includes over 32,000 currently accepted species, in over 1,900 genera (list) in 13 subfamilies. In terms of numbers of species, the Asteraceae are rivaled only by the Orchidaceae. Which is the larger family is unclear, because of the uncertainty about how many extant species each family includes. Nearly all Asteraceae bear their flowers in dense heads (capitula or pseudanthia) surrounded by involucral bracts. When viewed from a distance, each capitulum may appear to be a single flower. Enlarged outer (peripheral) flowers in the capitula may resemble petals, and the involucral bracts may look like a calyx. The name Asteraceae comes from the type genus Aster, from the Ancient Greek ἀστήρ, meaning star, and refers to the star-like form of the inflorescence. The alternative name Compositae is still valid under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants.) It refers to the "composite" nature of the capitula, which consist of a few or many individual flowers. Learn more about Daisy and sunflower
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Daisy and Sunflower Species Videos
View All Daisy and Sunflower Videos
Common Name | Scientific Name | Conservation Status |
African Daisy (8 videos) | Arctotis stoechadifolia | Not Available |
Alpine Sagebrush (3 videos) | Artemisia scopulorum | Not Available |
Alpine Yellow Fleabane (1 videos) | Erigeron aureus | Not Available |
Annual Sunflower (25 videos) | Helianthus annuus | Not Available |
Arctic Sweet Coltsfoot (1 videos) | Petasites frigidus | Not Available |
Arizona Thistle (0 videos) | Cirsium arizonicum | Not Available |
Arrowleaf Balsamroot (15 videos) | Balsamorhiza sagittata | Not Available |
Arrowweed (1 videos) | Pluchea sericea | Not Available |
Aztec Marigold (1 videos) | Tagetes erecta | Not Available |
Barrow's Goldeneye (35 videos) | Bucephala islandica | Least concern |
Black-eyed Susan (17 videos) | Rudbeckia hirta | Not Available |
Blessed Milk-thistle (10 videos) | Silybum marianum | Not Available |
Blue And White Daisybush (12 videos) | Osteospermum ecklonis | Not Available |
Brittlebush (31 videos) | Encelia farinosa | Not Available |
Browneyed Susan (3 videos) | Rudbeckia triloba | Not Available |
Brownray Knapweed (2 videos) | Centaurea jacea | Not Available |
Bull Thistle (2 videos) | Cirsium vulgare | Not Available |
California Coneflower (2 videos) | Rudbeckia californica | Not Available |
Canada Goldenrod (6 videos) | Solidago lepida | Not Available |
Canadian Thistle (0 videos) | Cirsium arvense | Not Available |
Cardoon (4 videos) | Cynara cardunculus | Not Available |
Coastal Sagebrush (17 videos) | Artemisia californica | Not Available |
Coltsfoot (2 videos) | Tussilago farfara | Not Available |
Common Chicory (1 videos) | Cichorium intybus | Not Available |
Common Dandelion (14 videos) | Taraxacum ceratophorum | Not Available |
Common Salsify (2 videos) | Tragopogon dubius | Not Available |
Common Wormwood (3 videos) | Artemisia vulgaris | Not Available |
Daisy (259 videos) | Chrysanthemum majus | Not Available |
Dandelion (173 videos) | Taraxacum officinale | Not Available |
Dandelion Hawksbeard (15 videos) | Crepis runcinata | Not Available |
Desert Chicory (1 videos) | Pyrrhopappus pauciflorus | Not Available |
Desert Marigold (1 videos) | Baileya multiradiata | Not Available |
Eastern Purple Coneflower (54 videos) | Echinacea purpurea | Not Available |
Fewflower Beggartick (2 videos) | Bidens leptocephala | Not Available |
Flattop Pussyto (1 videos) | Antennaria corymbosa | Not Available |
Fleabane (15 videos) | Erigeron oxyodontus | Not Available |
Garden Cornflower (13 videos) | Centaurea cyanus | Not Available |
Garden Tansy (4 videos) | Tanacetum vulgare | Not Available |
German Chamomile (3 videos) | Matricaria chamomilla | Not Available |
Giant Coreopsi ( videos) | Coreopsis gigantea | Not Available |
Giant Sunflower (0 videos) | Helianthus giganteus | Not Available |
Greater Knapweed (4 videos) | Centaurea scabiosa | Not Available |
Green And Gold (0 videos) | Chrysogonum virginianum | Not Available |
Hardhead (0 videos) | Rhaponticum repens | Not Available |
Hawai'i Silversword (7 videos) | Argyroxiphium sandwicense | Not Available |
Hawkweed (18 videos) | Hieracium flagellare | Not Available |
Hemp Agrimony (2 videos) | Eupatorium cannabinum | Not Available |
Hinahina (0 videos) | Geranium cuneatum | Not Available |
Ironweed (8 videos) | Vernonia galamensis | Not Available |
Lanceleaf Tickseed (1 videos) | Coreopsis lanceolata | Not Available |
Lawndaisy (3 videos) | Bellis perennis | Not Available |
Lesser Knapweed (1 videos) | Centaurea nigra | Not Available |
Lettuce (21 videos) | Lactuca sativa | Not Available |
Marguerite (2 videos) | Argyranthemum frutescens | Not Available |
Meadow False Fleabane (1 videos) | Pulicaria dysenterica | Not Available |
Meadow Thistle (1 videos) | Cirsium scariosum | Not Available |
Mexican Thistle (8 videos) | Cirsium mexicanum | Not Available |
Mojave Thistle (0 videos) | Cirsium mohavense | Not Available |
Musk Thistle (0 videos) | Carduus nutans | Not Available |
New Mexico Thistle (6 videos) | Cirsium neomexicanum | Not Available |
Nodding Burr-marigold (1 videos) | Bidens cernua | Least concern |
Orange Coneflower (1 videos) | Rudbeckia fulgida | Not Available |
Orange Daisy (0 videos) | Erigeron aurantiacus | Not Available |
Orange Hawkweed (15 videos) | Hieracium aurantiacum | Not Available |
Oxeye Daisy (6 videos) | Leucanthemum vulgare | Not Available |
Pestilence Wort (1 videos) | Petasites hybridus | Not Available |
Pinnate Prairie Coneflower (1 videos) | Ratibida pinnata | Not Available |
Pitchfork (0 videos) | Dicranocarpus parviflorus | Not Available |
Plains Coreopsi ( videos) | Coreopsis tinctoria | Not Available |
Prairie Coneflower (7 videos) | Ratibida columnifera | Not Available |
Prairie Sunflower (1 videos) | Helianthus petiolaris | Not Available |
Rose Thistle (2 videos) | Cirsium andersonii | Not Available |
Rubber Rabbitbrush (1 videos) | Ericameria nauseosa | Not Available |
Salsify (2 videos) | Tragopogon porrifolius | Not Available |
Scotch Thistle (7 videos) | Onopordum acanthium | Not Available |
Seaside Fleabane (1 videos) | Erigeron glaucus | Not Available |
Shasta Daisy (2 videos) | Leucanthemum x superbum | Not Available |
Silversword (7 videos) | Dubautia kalalauensis | Not Available |
Smooth Hawksbeard (18 videos) | Crepis capillaris | Not Available |
Spanish Needle (0 videos) | Bidens bipinnata | Not Available |
Spotted Joepyeweed ( videos) | Eutrochium maculatum | Not Available |
Spotted Knapweed (1 videos) | Centaurea stoebe | Not Available |
Stinking Willie (5 videos) | Jacobaea vulgaris | Not Available |
Sunflower (589 videos) | Helianthus x doronicoides | Not Available |
Tickseed Sunflower ( videos) | Bidens polylepis | Not Available |
Wandering Fleabane (6 videos) | Erigeron peregrinus | Not Available |
Woodland Sunflower (3 videos) | Helianthus divaricatus | Not Available |
Yarrow (11 videos) | Achillea ageratifolia | Not Available |
Yellow Cup (0 videos) | Chylismia brevipes | Not Available |
Yellowray Goldfield (3 videos) | Lasthenia glabrata | Not Available |