Description :

• Herbs, subshrubs or shrubs, sometimes vines, rarely dioecious, rarely spiny
• Leaves mostly alternate or rosulate, rarely opposite, usually entire or serrate-dentate only, less often pinnatifid-pinnatisect, rarely succulent
• Capitula radiate, disciform or discoid, solitary, corymbose or paniculate
• Involucral bracts generally imbricate in several rows
• Receptacle mostly epaleate, sometimes paleate
• Ray florets often many, female, fertile or sometimes sterile, rarely neuter with mostly slender blue, violet, purple, pink or frequently yellow or white lamina
• Outer florets in disciform capitula frequently in several rows, female, tubular or filiform
• Disc florets bisexual or often functionally male, sometimes distinctly divided into tube and limb, sometimes more funnel-shaped, 5-lobed, mostly yellow
• Anthers mostly ecalcarate and ecaudate, rarely shortly caudate; apical appendage ovate-lanceolate, flat; endothecial tissue mostly of elongated cells, radial or rarely partly polarised
• Style with oblong-linear style branches, above stigmatic portions prolonged into acute triangular-lanceolate to subulate, ventrally glabrous, dorsally pilose, sterile appendages; hairs mostly obtuse; stigmatic areas always in 2 separate lines
• Cypselas rather uniform, mostly oblong-obovoid and ± ribbed, rarely shortly beaked; glabrous or pubescent with twin hairs
• Pappus of scabrid-barbellate, rarely plumose, fine or coarse bristles, or scales, or both bristles and scales or 0

Nomenclature:

• Astereae
  • Cassini: 195 (1819)
  • Bremer: 398 (1994)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global : Genera 174, worldwide, especially frequent in SW North America, along Andes in South America, southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand and central Asia
• Southern Africa : Genera 21, species 269

References:

• BREMER, K. 1994. Asteraceae , cladistics & classification . Timber Press, Portland, Oregon
• CASSINI, A.H.G. DE. 1819. In Journal de physique, de chimie, d'histoire naturelle et des artes 88
• HILLIARD, O.M. 1977. Compositae in Natal . University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg
• NESOM, G.L. 1994. Repartition of Mairia ( Asteraceae : Astereae ). Phytologia 76,2

Resources:

• Key to Asteraceae tribes
• Key to Astereae genera

• Astereae genera: