Traditionally known as the Compositae, now known as the Asteraceae, the Sunflower family, or Aster family, is possibly the largest family of flowering plants on the planet. What we generally perceive as an individual "blossom" is actually a tightly packed cluster of flowers. The top three photos clearly show the composite nature of the plant, exhibiting both disk flowers (center portion) and ray flowers (outer "petals"). Some members of the family have only disk or only ray flowers. Why they would still be considered members of this family will be discussed in a later post. I took these photos with aesthetics in mind more than science. However, I'm now reading up on the science of this family and hope to share my findings soon. This past summer, I've been particularly fond of composites as favorite landing pads for beautiful insects, especially beetles. It's possible I'm favoring beetles in my photography simply because they're not quite as shy as butterflies.
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