Largest family of flowering plants

The largest family of flowering plants is Asteraceae (formerly Compositae), the daisy family, which contains more than 1,900 genera and over 32,000 species, many of which occur in fields, meadows and other areas of grassland around the world. Familiar genera with bright, blooms in many colours favoured by gardeners include Aster, Bellis, Chrysanthemum, Helianthus (sunflowers), Senecio and Zinnia.

The next closest rival is the orchid family (Orchidaceae), with approximately 700 genera and 28,000 species named.

The Asteraceae were first described in 1740, though originally were categorized under the taxonomic classification of Compositae by the Dutch botanist Adriaan van Royen.