According to observations of naturalists and beekeepers.
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The Asteraceae are herbs, shrubs, or less commonly trees and are arguably the largest family of flowering plants, comprising about 1,100 genera and 20,000 species that are characterized by having the flowers reduced and organized into an involucrate pseudanthium in the form of a head or capitulum.
The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species ranging from subpolar to tropical regions, colonizing a wide variety of habitats.
Asteraceae is an economically important family, providing products such as cooking oils, leaf vegetables like lettuce, sunflower seeds, artichokes, sweetening agents, coffee substitutes, and herbal teas.
This plant is present in at least 25 states/provinces in this country.
Inflorescence
The inflorescence consists of several small flowers, called florets, that are crowded together, sessile, on a receptacle. This inflorescence is often mistaken for a single flower. Compositae refers to the superficial resemblance of the head to a single, large flower. What looks like an ordinary flower is really a composite of small florets.
The inflorescence is called a capitulum, or head.
The flower cluster is surrounded by bracts, called involucral bracts, or phyllaries, and the whole structure is referred to as an involucre.
Some members of the family have only one row (uniseriate) of involucral bracts (Senecio); others have several rows.
The arrangement (how many rows; whether the bracts are overlapping or side by side) and the texture of bracts are often important in identifying the genus.
In some species, some or all the florets are subtended by their own bracts. These bracts are attached to the receptacle and are referred to as receptacular bracts, or chaff. They are generally not visible unless you pull apart the capitulum. Species without chaff are said to have a ‘naked’ receptacle. The receptacle is the enlarged portion of the peduncle upon which the florets are borne.
Flower
Disk florets - In most members of Asteraceae, the central florets have a radially symmetrical, tubular corolla, with 5 short lobes. These florets are called disk florets. They form the central disk of the capitulum in typical daisies. Disk florets are often perfect flowers. The entire inflorescence may be composed of disk florets only (a condition referred to as homogamous); when so, the inflorescence is said to be discord.
Ray florets - Surrounding the disk florets are sometimes an outer ring of ray florets. These have zygomorphic symmetry, and are usually either sterile or pistillate, with 3 apical teeth. Ray florets are strap-shaped, imperfect, and never occur alone in the inflorescence (a condition referred to as heterogamous). They are always associated with disk florets (although disk florets may occur without ray florets) and form a circle around the margin of the head, the center filled with disk florets.
Ligulate floret – the best known weedy composite, the common dandelion, has a third kind of floret, a ligulate floret. These resemble ray florets with their zygomorphic symmetry, but ligulate florets are perfect (bisexual) and have 5 apical teeth at the end of the strap.
Bilabiate floret – These florets have zygomorphic symmetry, but not so much as the ray or ligule. They have 3-4 lobes on the lower (long) lip, and 1-2 lobes on the upper (shorter) lip. They are also bisexual, can be represented by thistles, and are relatively rare in the U.S.
Apart form differences in corolla shape and sexuality, the 4 types of florets are very similar to one another in many family-unifying characteristics:
Pollination is effected by diverse agents, most commonly various sorts of insects.
The members of Asteraceae produce a type of fruit called an achene, which is dry and single-seeded and does not open at maturity.
Sinapis arvensis (aka: Charlock mustard, California rape, Charlock, Corn mustard, Canola, Kaber mustard, Rapeseed mustard)
Borago officinalis (aka: Borage, Starflower, Common borage, Cool-tankard, Tailwort)
Cucumis melo (aka: Cantaloupe, Rockmelon, Sweet melon, Spanspek, Honeydew melon, Honeymelon, Crenshaw, Casaba)
Citrullus lanatus (aka: Watermelon)
Calluna vulgaris (aka: Heather, Scotch heather, Common heather, Ling, Simply heather)
Asteraceae (aka: Aster, Daisy, Composite)