The family includes over 32,000
currently accepted species, in over 1,900 genera in 13 subfamilies.
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.
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