'The drawings below are all of flowers from the Daisy family (Asteraceae). A typical Daisy family flower head is called a composite flower head; it is made up of many tiny flowers, called florets. There are two types of floret: disc florets, which are tubular, and are generally found in the centre of the flower; and ray florets, which have a "petal" attached, and tend to be positioned around the outer edge of the flower, as in the daisy. Many composite flower heads have both types of floret, though some have only one; the thistle, for example, only has disc florets, whilst the dandelion only has ray florets.

At low magnification, flower heads which to the naked eye are fairly similar, such as those of burdock, knapweed and thistle, are shown to have florets that are markedly different from each other. The botanically-minded may also observe that the stigma, although mostly two-pronged, varies in shape, depending on the species and the type of floret. There is endless scope for investigation of the Asteraceae, it being one of the largest and most prominent plant families - for example, dissection of a sunflower, chrysanthemum or dahlia might be a good starting point.'

1. Hemp Agrimony. Click image to view a larger version.

2. Mugwort. Click image to view a larger version.

3. Yarrow. Click image to view a larger version.

4. Marigold. Click image to view a larger version.

7. Thistle. Click image to view a larger version