Asteraceae (Daisy family)

Back when I was your age, shortly after the Asteraceae had evolved, I made a collection of this family for my own degree course. It's probably a bit sad, but I still have it - I enjoyed producing it and it was the real start of my interest in botany. I think choosing this group is a really good way to get into the subject. As you're searching for your specimens you'll come across all sorts of other families too, so your botanical knowledge will really improve.

The Asteraceae include all those things non-botanists overlook as 'dandelions' and all the things they overlook as 'thistles', plus a large variety of other species: wormwood, fleabane, sneezewort and chicory, to name a few. The man in the street may dismiss your collection as weeds but you'll get to appreciate their interesting variety and form.

In fact, part of their appeal is that they can be found lurking in all sorts of habitats. Plenty can be found in arable and urban settings - their reproductive strategy often involves a parachute-like 'pappus' which transports their seeds far and wide. The family is the largest of the flowering plants, and you'll be able to recognise its members on any future travels across the globe. Your collection should be focused on species in this country though.

I did have one advantage over you with my collection - I was able to do it over the summer. If you choose the Asteraceae, I think you will be able to collect enough species through the autumn and a few in the spring, but you shouldn't leave it to the last minute. You'd need to do most of your collecting by the end of September really, or there won't be any flowers to find (just really manky dead ones, generally). There'll be some species in the spring too. But you need to get started early. Pop your specimens in your botanical press for safe keeping. If you keep your notebook on you, it'll soon fill up with the necessary details.

Van Gogh's Sunflowers. They're Asteraceae. But not native, sorry. CC image by Dmadeo.

There are plenty of flowering plant guides out there, but my favourite is the Wild Flower Key by Francis Rose. We've got plenty of copies we can lend to you. The drawings are clear and it has a dichotomous key to the group - you'll remember that demonstrating you can use a key is part of your assessment. It's best if you can to find specimens with flowers - it makes identification so much easier. But some Asteraceae can be distinctive without these. Sometimes you'll need to check the details of very small features. A hand-lens is very useful, or you can always bring your specimens into the lab and look at them under the dissecting microscopes. Everything is always better under a dissecting microscope in any case! There's a lot of variety in the shape of the hairs of the pappus, the seeds, the presence or absence of glandular hairs... much for a botanist to find interesting.

I should also mention the standard text for vascular plants in this country - Stace's New Flora of the British Isles. It has no illustrations and is a bit frightening for beginners. But if you'd like a go, or want to bring in mystery specimens so we can look at them together, please do contact me.

The usual advice about collecting applies (get permission from landowners and don't uproot plants) - but the opportunistic habits of this group will help you in finding specimens on unloved pieces of land.

Read the botanical press page next for advice about specimen preservation...

... and read on for information about mounting and presenting them.

For added encouragement read this post - I'm finding plenty of plants at the end of September.

Curiously shaped seeds of Calendula arvensis (CC image by Steve Hurst)

Images are CC licensed from Chlystek, Peer, Alan Vernon and Magnus Manske.


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