Systematics, Evolution, and Biogeography of Compositae

The Compositae (Asteraceae) are the largest and most successful flowering plant family in the world with ca. 1700 genera and 25,000 species. They grow everywhere but Antarctica but they prefer open areas and are common garden plants (i.e., sunflowers, daisies, artichokes, thistles, lettuce). This volume is based on recent morphological and molecular data and has overview chapters that cover topics such as chromosome numbers and chemistry as well as a chapter on every clade in the family. Nearly every chapter has a color-coded biogeography tree and color photos of plants and there is a summary chapter with a ca. 900 taxon tree (metatree) for the whole family. Appendices include an illustrated glossary and a combined literature cited (each chapter has a literature cited as well).