composite flower

A composite flower is a flower composed of many smaller flowers known as florets. A floret is a small flower that forms part of the flower head or capitula, and come in two forms: disc florets, which are circular flowers located in the center of the capitula, and ray florets which are petal-like flowers that extend outwards from the center of the capitula.

Composite flowers belong to plants of the family Asteraceae (also known as Compositae), a very large family containing over 32,000 species. Composite flowers may have ray florets, disc florets, or both. Flowers that contain both may be identified by a round center with petals extending from this center. Although there will be many variations of composite flowers, and of which some will be difficult to determine as composites without knowing the specific species.