Asteraceae

The family consists of approximately 1,620 genera, 23,000 species and 12 subfamilies.The Asteraceaefamily consists of annual and perennial herbaceous plants, more rarely semi-shrubs, shrubs or trees. The leaves are mostly sequential, but can also be opposite or arranged in a rosette. Characteristic of the family is the raceme which resembles a tiny basket (head). It has a flat or protruded flower bottom where the flowers are arranged.On the outside, the lower part of the flower bottom is covered with a lining (called indusium) of leaves with different form, color and arrangement that are largely used within the taxonomy of the family.The tiny baskets can lie in single or complex racemes.The blossoms are tiny, multiple, gathered in tiny baskets rarely a single one per basket.The calyx consists of flakes, setae or is missing.The petals are 5 and joint in a long narrow tube that in its upper part is shaped differently, forming various types of flowers:tube-like, tongue-like, funnel-shaped. The stamens are 5 attached to the corolla. The seed-vessel has an inferior ovary with a long stem passing through the wreath tube and ending in a bifid stigma. The fruit is a seed. In many members of the family the seed has a samarathrough which it is dispersed by the wind (Dandelion – genera род Taraxacum).
The Compositaefamily is the most numerous one in terms of the number of species in Bulgaria.Approximately 420 species and around 95 genera are naturally spread throughout the country. Under the Law on Biological Diversity 58 species of the family are protected.