Family Asteraceae:

Introduction:
An angiosperm is a diverse group. They have stems, roots and leaves and can bear flowers. They
have seeds enclosed within the ovary. The angiosperm family includes asteraceae.
Common name: Asteraceae, Compositae
Number of genera: Asteraceae is also known as Compositae. It is one of the largest
families of flowering plants.
Propagation type: Seeds and fruits
Distribution: The members of this family are distributed throughout the world. They
inhabit every conceivable situation.

Vegetative characters:
Habitat: Members of this family are mostly mesophytes and some xerophytes are also
known in this family.
Habit: Mostly annual or perennial herbs, rarely shrubs (Helianthus annus) and trees
(Veronia). Occasionally marsh plants (Caesulia) also occur in this family.
Root system: Generally the root system is branched taproot system. Tuberous are present
in Dhalia.The roots and stem may contain oil passages.
Stem: Herbaceous or woody, erect, branched. Helianthus tuberoses produces stem
tubers. Many species have milky white sap. Stems are often covered by trichomes.
Leaf: Leaves are simple, alternate or opposite (Helianthus) or whorled (Eupatorium),
exstipulate, petiolate, hairy, reticulate venation.

Characteristics of Asteraceae:
They have the following characteristic features:

1. These are herbs, shrubs or trees. Most of them are xerophytes, hydrophytes and semi-
aquatic.
2. Taproots are modified into tubers.
3. The stem might be erect, hairy, woody or prostrate. It might sometimes contain latex.
 4. The leaves may be radical, petiolate, exstipulate,
5. Flowers are tubular or ligulate, bisexual or unisexual, usually dithecous, filament free
with united anthers.
6. The androecium is absent.
7. The gynoecium is either absent or present.
8. The seed is endospermic.
9. The fruit produced is a cypsela.

Economic Importance Of Asteraceae:

Food:
Family Asteraceae is an important source of food. The leaves and roots of a few angiosperms
such as Lactuca sativa and Helianthus tuberosus are edible.
Oil:
The seeds of angiosperms are an important source of oil.
Medicines:
Most of the plants belonging to the Asteraceae family have medicinal values. For eg., Solidago is
used for dropsy, artemisia yields santonin, and the juices and roots of a few plants are used in
bowel disorders and have a cooling effect.
Rubber:
Taraxacum and Solidago laevenworthii are important sources of rubber.
Insecticide:
The capitula of Chrysanthemum roseum is dried and its powder is used as an insecticide.

Family Apiaceae:
Characters of Apiaceae:
Vegetative characters:
Habit:
Plants are mostly herbs which may be annual, biennial or perennial, the herbs may be large
(Bupleurum, Heracleum, Agelica) rarely shrubs with aromatic odour due to the presence of oil
ducts.

Root:

Tap, branched sometimes swollen for the storage of food material e.g., Carrot (Daucus carota).

Stem:
Erect or prostrate; climbing in Pseudocarum; swollen nodes, sometimes ridged, usually fistular,
glaucous or glabrous.
Economic Importance of Apiaceae:
This family is of considerable importance from economic point of view chiefly because the
plants have essential oil from which condiments or medicine are prepared.

Food:
Carrot (Daucus carota), celery (Apium graveolens), parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) and sowa
(Peucedanum graveolens) are chiefly used as pot herbs.

Condiments:
Hing (Ferula foetida), Ajwain (Carum copticum), Zira (Cuminum cyminum), Saunf (Foeniculum
vulgare), Dhania (Coriandrum sativum), are used as condiments or carminatives. Hing is a
oleogum resin obtained from the roots. Ferula sumbul and F. galbaniflua also produce hing.
Dorema also produces oleogum resin.

Fodder:
Several members as carrot, Heracleum, Angelica provide fodder for cattle and horses.

Medicinal:
Centella (H. Brahmi) is a very good tonic for brain. Hing, Saunf, Sowa, are used in digestive
disorders. Peucedanum, graveolens (H. Sowa) is used as Dill water for children. Conium
maculatum is the Hemlock plant. Its poison was given to Socrates; medicinally it is important in
all spasmodic affections such as cholera, epilepsy, whooping cough, mania etc. Conium yields
the alkaloid coniine.

Apium graveolens (H. Ajmud) produces apiin and used medicinally as cardiac tonic, or in
asthma etc.

Ornamental:
Trachymene, Angelica, Eryngium, Heracleum are cultivated in gardens for their beautiful
flowers.

Primitive characters:
1. Plants are generally perennial and shrubby.

2. Leaves are simple and alternate in most of the genera.

3. Corolla is polypetalous.
4. Stamens polyandrous.

5. Flowers are actinomorphic and hermaphrodite, insect pollinated.

6. Seeds endospermic.

Advanced characters:
1. Plants mainly herbaceous-annuals or biennials.

2. Leaves finely dissected and compound or decompound in many genera.

3. Inflorescence umbel – simple or compound.

4. Flowers small and in some zygomorphic; epigynous.

5. Calyx gamosepalous in most of the genera.

6. Number of sepals and petals is fixed i.e. 5.

7. Stamens 5 with versatile anthers.

8. Carpels two and syncarpous.

9. One ovule in each loculus.

10. Reduction in the number of ovules i.e. two and the number is persistent in whole family.

11. Presence of stylopodium.

12. Fruit simple, cremocarp.