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Crazy about daisies – an easy guide to the Asteraceae family 

The daisy family, also known as the sunflower or aster family, features some of the most loved and well-known plants, and includes annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees

Meet the family 

Featuring over 1,900 genera throughout the world, and found on every continent except Antarctica, Asteraceae is one of the largest plant families, with only Orchidaceae vying for the top spot. Alongside the ubiquitous chain-making daisy in our lawns, the family includes cosmos, dahlias and marigolds, as well as less obvious edible cousins such as lettuce, tarragon and endive. 

Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Xanthos’ 
Dahlia ‘Labyrinth’ 
Some of our common weeds join the family party, such as dandelions, thistles and groundsel. But in terms of gardening, many of our most popular garden plants belong to this group, including Echinacea, Helenium, Achillea, and Artemisia, and even shrubs such as Brachyglottis and Olearia.

Achillea ‘Walther Funcke’ 
Echinacea planted en masse
Common family traits 

Like all families, the daisy family has some common characteristics, as well as some oddities. They share their ‘daisy’ head, which is actually many tiny individual florets, encircled by a sun ray of florets, each with a single large petal. Their former family name was Compositae because of this composite form of many minute flowers. One thing they don’t share is the shape and makeup of their leaves, stems, and roots. 

Aster koraiensis
Juicy family gossip 

  • ‘Aster’ in ancient Greek means ‘star’ due to the starlike shape. 

  • Solidago (goldenrod) has a high-protein pollen, which helps honey bees in winter. 

Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’   

  • Dandelions were introduced into North America by European settlers who ate the young leaves as salad.

  • ​French marigold oil is extracted to use in cola. 

Tagetes patula (french marigold)

  • ​Ragweed pollen is one of the main causes of autumnal hay fever in the US. ​

  • Many of the family are used in the cut-flower industry, including chrysanthemums, gerberas, dahlias and zinnias. 

Chrysanthemum ‘Jessica Emily’ 
Gerbera GARVINEA SWEET SURPRISE

  • Some stems contain latex or resin (chicory, dandelion). 

  • ‘Daisy’ comes from the Old English dægesege, formerly dæges eage, meaning ‘day’s eye,’ because the petals of some species of daisy open at dawn and close at dusk. 

  • There are over 32,000 currently accepted species in the Asteraceae family. Their success has been attributed to their unique floral and fruit traits, which allow them to disperse easily, and put off herbivores from eating them.

Finally, a little daisy folklore 

In Roman myth, the nymph Belides caught the eye of Vertumnus, god of the orchards, as she danced with the other nymphs at the edge of the forest, and to escape his unwanted attention, transformed herself into a daisy flower (Bellis).

Book tickets to RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival where you can enjoy the All About Asteraceae display

© vanessasblickwinkel/Pixabay
Childhood memories are stirred by daisies in a lawn

About the author - Natalie Ashbee

Natalie grew up on an arable farm in North Cornwall. She was a primary school teacher, then started a gardening business, moving into garden and planting design. She spent several years in Bristol, where she was a horticulturist for garden TV programmes. She now lives and gardens in West Cornwall.

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