Luontoportti

The Daisy (or Sunflower) Family (Compositae, Asteraceae) in Finland is comprised of three subfamilies; Asteroideae, Carduoideae and Cichorioideae. As the family has so many members, the plants are presented here according to their subfamilies. Worldwide the Daisy family has 12 subfamilies. Asteroideae is by far the greatest of these; it contains over 1,000 genera and in excess of 16,000 species (approx. 70% of the total number). In Finland the family is represented by around 40 genera and 90 species. Species in the family have a lot common features: the flowers are capitular and typically develop flying hairs during the fruiting stage. The main difference between the subfamilies is that Asteroideae and Carduoideae species do not (usually) contain latex, the Cichorioideae species do.
On a global scale the Daisy family competes with the Orchid family (Orchidaceae) for the title of largest (number of species) plant family in the world. The Daisy family is out in front with 33,000 species (and 1,900 genera), but the Orchid family is breathing down its neck with 28,000 species (and 900 genera).