| Class: | angiosperms |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Editor | N. Kilian (Cichorieae, excluding Hieracium 2011-2013), M. Schnittler (Artemisia, 2009), E. v. Raab-Straube (Saussurea, 2009) |
| Name acc. to: | APGII |
| Herbar: | list records    |
| Description: | Inflorescence mostly as heads, looks like one flower. Flowers small, located on receptacle, surrounded by dense involucre of floral leaves; crrolla of 2 main types: ligulate irregular ray flowers with limb prolonged to a 3 or 5-toothed ligule and tubulate regular disc flowers with 5-lobed limb. Fruit an achene. |
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| genus: 84 |
| species: 417 |
| Habit (i)general appearance of a plant | |
| Parasite status: (i)Is the plant a half- or full parasite? | no parasite/saprophyte (i)Plant fully autonomous, leaves with chlorophyll
example: Most plants, Ranunculus
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| Water or terrestrial plant: (i)Where do the plants grow? | terrestrial (i)Plant grows on dry land
example: Orostachys spinosa
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| Leaf (i)expanded, usually photosynthetic organ of a plant (including phylloclades) | |
| Leaf development: (i)Structure and development of leaves. | with green leaves (i)Plant with green leaves
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| Stipule: (i)Leaflets at the base of the petiole, these are smaller and of different shape. | none (i)Without stipules
example: Euphorbia, Ericaceae s.l.
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| Leaf veination: (i)Arrangement of the main veins of a leaf. | pinnate (i)One main vein, several side veins, sometimes inconspicuous
example: Cicerbita   
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| Flower (i)reproductive portion of the plant, consisting of sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils | |
| Flower appearance and pollination: (i)General appearance of the flower. | attractive, animal-pollinated (i)attractive and coloured flowers, mostly large, attracting surely animals
example: Trollius, Rosa, Chamaerhodos
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| Perianth arrangement: (i)Attention: in some plants, flowers may be dimorphic in different ways (dioecious or gynodioecious). If flowers vary, record the characters of the most showy flowers. | double, different (i)Two types of perianth leaves, differently coloured (sepals: outer periant leaves, usually greenish, and petals: inner perianth leaves, usually coloured)
example: Parnassia  
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| Petal / Tepal number: (i)Number of petal leaves (inner perianth leaves, usually coloured). | 5 (i)
example: Potentilla
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| Petal / Tepal fusion: (i)To which degree are the petal leaves connected? Petals sympetalous. | fused (i)petal leaves united, only tips are free (gamopetalous, sympetalous)
example: Linnaea, Adenophora, Stellera
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| Spur: (i)A hollow, slender, sac-like appendage of the perianth leaves, storing nectar. | no spur (i)Flower without appendage
example: Peganum
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| Stamen number: (i)Attention: We ask for the reproductive organs of the flower dispersing pollen. Count only fully fertile stamens, not staminodia (e.g. Parnassia). | 5 (i)
example: Peucedanum
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| Stamen fusion: (i)To which degree are the stamens fused? Attention: Whereas the pollen sacs itself are often free., their stalks (filaments) may be fused. Here, we count them as fused if they are together over at least one thirth of their length. | fused with each other (i)All or most stamens fused with each other to a tube-like structure
example: Caragana, Petasites
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| Pistil number: (i)Number of pistils (female floral organs: style, if developed; stigma and carpels/ovary together build the pistil). | 2 (i)Two stigmas, often cleaved like a snakes tongue
example: Salvia, Arnica, Bupleurum, Bromus, Saxifraga, Veronica
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| Carpel number: (i)Number of carpels (carpel: forming a simple pistil or part of a compound pistil, modified leaf). | 2
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| Carpel fusion: (i)To which degree are the carpels (modified leaf forming simple pistil or part of a compound pistil) fused. | fused (i)Carpels united into an ovary, only styles are free
example: Malus, Berberis
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| Style number: (i)Portion of the pistil connecting the stigma to the ovary. | 1
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| Stigma number per style: (i)Number of stigmas per style. | 2 (i)Two stigmas, resulting from two fused carpels with or without developed style 
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| Ovary position: (i)For entirely or partly fused carpels, describe their position in relation to the insertion point of perianth leaves (best done by doing a longitudinal section of a flower). | inferior (i)Ovary below the point where perianth leaves are inserted, always fused to an ovary
example: Vaccinum  
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| Inflorescence (i)flowering part of a plant, describes the arrangement of the flowers on the flowering axis | |
| Inflorescence: (i)Structure of the inflorescence. | Flowers in inflorescence (i)No solitary flowers
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| Inflorescence type: (i)Types of inflorescence. Attention: We here ask for the botanical nomenclature of inflorescences, which is sufficiently complicated. Tick only, if you are certain, or tick all inflorescence types that appear similar of these of the plant in question. | head or capitulum (= calathidium) (i)Sessile flowers densely clustered on a compressed or widened axis, often surrounded by bracts, called involucral leaves
example: Asteraceae, Dipsacaceae, Sanguisorba, Trifolium  
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| Fruit (i)the seed bearing organ, with or without adnate parts; a ripened ovary and any other structures which are attached and ripen with it. Aggregate fruits are handled like simple fruits for determination. | |
| Consistency: (i)Fleshy fruits or dry fruits, see dispersal adaptations for further classification. | dry (i)With a dry outer shell, no fleshy parts, but seed (embryo) could be edible
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| Type of fruit: (i)Common fruit types (including pseudocarp). | Indehiscent fruits
achene (i)A small, dry, indehiscent fruit with a single seed
example: Asteraceae, Apiaceae (schizocarp), Dipsacaceae, Rosaceae, Ranunculaceae  
nut or nutlet (i)Dry fruit with a single, hard stone inside (and usually a large often edible embryo) 
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| Opening of fruit: (i)Mode of dehiscence at maturity to release seeds. | not opening / indehiscent (i)Fruits remain closed at maturity and disperse with seeds inside
example: Corylus (nut), Vaccinium (berry)
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| Dispersal: (i)Appearance of fruit or seed (if single) and adaptations to dispersal. | Flying (wind dispersed) (i)Fruits or seeds with appendages to fly
example: Taraxacum, Atraphaxis, Pulsatilla
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| Seed number: (i)Estimate the number of seeds per fruit, if recognizable seeds are in the fruit (in rare cases a fruit may contain one seeded nuts: rose hip, carex). | 1 (i)A single seed (stone) or seed and fruit wall tightly connected
example: Prunus, Amygdalus: drupe
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| Root / shoot below ground (i)plant part below ground (in most cases), including below ground shoots, without leaves | |
| Root type: (i)Organisation of the roots. | allorhizous (i)Plant with a conspicuous tap root, one larger tap root with side roots
example: Dicotyledonae  inherited by order Asterales: allorhizous
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