Family Asteraceae / Compositae D-L, Sunflower Family, משפחת המורכבים
The Aster or Sunflower Family is the second largest family of flowering plants; most usually herbs, but some shrubs, trees and climbers do exist.Plants of the family are composites of many small flowers in a disk-like flowerhead, each producing one seed; bisexual, bracts, two or more rows of bracts (modified leaves) beneath the flowers; the true sepals have been reduced to small scales, or often transformed into a hairy "pappus", or sometimes eliminated altogether; each disk flower, 5 united petals to form a corolla tube; 5 stamens, the filaments fused to the corolla, while the anthers are generally connate; pistil is made of two connate carpels; the ovary is positioned inferior and has one ovule; fruit an achene, one seed per fruit; each big petal, that ring the outside of the flower head, is called a "ray flower", often infertile, without stamens or a pistil, its petals are fused together and hanging to one side. Asteraceae / Compositae will have either disk flowers or ray flowers, or both.
