{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Asterales
| image = A_sunflower.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| image_caption = [[Sunflower]], ''Helianthus annuus''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = '''Asterales''' <small>[[John Lindley|Lindl.]] ([[1833]])</small>
| subdivision_ranks = [[Family (biology)|Families]]
| subdivision =
*[[Alseuosmiaceae]]
*[[Argophyllaceae]]
*[[Asteraceae]] - [[Daisy|Daisies]]
*[[Calyceraceae]]
*[[Campanulaceae]] (incl. [[Lobeliaceae]]) - [[Bellflower]]s
*[[Goodeniaceae]] (incl. [[Brunoniaceae]])
*[[Menyanthaceae]]
*[[Pentaphragmaceae]]
*[[Phellinaceae]]
*[[Rousseaceae]] (incl. [[Carpodetaceae]])
*[[Stylidiaceae]] (also [[Donatiaceae]])
}}

The '''Asterales''' are an [[order (biology)|order]] of [[dicotyledon]]ous [[flowering plant]]s which include the composite family [[Asteraceae]] ([[sunflower]]s, [[Bellis|daisies]], [[thistle]]s etc.) and its related families.

The order is cosmopolitic, and includes mostly herbaceous species, although a small number of trees (''Lobelia'') and shrubs is also present.

The Asterales can be characterized on the morphological and molecular level. Synapomorphies include the [[oligosaccharide]] [[inulin]] as the nutrients storage, and the stamens are usually aggregated densely around the style or even are fused into a tube around it. The last property is probably associated with the plunger (or secondary) [[pollination]], which is common among the families of the order.

== Families ==
The '''Asterales''' include about eleven families, the largest of which is [[Asteraceae]] with about 25,000 species, and [[Campanulaceae]] with about 2,000 species. The remaining families count together for less than 500 species. The two large families are cosmopolitic with center of mass in the northern hemisphere, and the smaller ones are usually confined to Australia and the adjacent areas, or sometimes South America.

Under the [[Cronquist system]], [[Asteraceae]] was the only family in the group, but newer systems (e. g. [[Angiosperm Phylogeny Group|APG]] II) have expanded it.

==Evolution and biogeography==
The Asterales order probably originated in the [[Cretaceous]] on the supercontinent [[Gondwana]], in the area which is now Australia and Asia. <!-- Asia was mostly Laurasia, not Gondwana, so what is meant here? --> Although most extant species are herbaceous, the examination of the basal families in the order suggests that the common ancestor of the order was an arborescent plant.

Fossil evidence of the Asterales is rare and belongs to rather recent epochs, so the precise estimation of the order's age is quite difficult. An [[Oligocene]] pollen is known for Asteraceae and Goodeniaceae, and seeds from Oligocene and [[Miocene]] are known for Menyanthaceae and Campanulaceae respectively.

(Bremer and Gustafsson, 1997)

==Economical importance==
The Asteraceae include some species grown for food, e. g. [[sunflower]] (''Helianthus annuus'') or [[chicory]] (''Cichorium''). Many spices and medicinal herbs are also present.

Of horticultural importance are the Asteraceae (e. g. [[chrysanthemum]]) and Campanulaceae.

==References==
{{commonscat|Asterales}}
* K. Bremer, M. H. G. Gustafsson (1997). East Gondwana ancestry of the sunflower alliance of families. ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A.'' '''94''', 9188-9190. (Available online: [http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/94/17/9188 Abstract] | [http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/94/17/9188 Full text (HTML)] | [http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/94/17/9188.pdf Full text (PDF)])
* W. S. Judd, C. S. Campbell, E. A. Kellogg, P. F. Stevens, M. J. Donoghue (2002). ''Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach, 2nd edition.'' pp. 476-486 (Asterales). Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, Massachusetts. ISBN 0-87893-403-0.
* [[John Lindley|J. Lindley]] (1833). ''Nixus Plantarum'', 20. Londini.
* Smissen, R. D. (December 2002). Asterales (Sunflower). In: ''Nature Encyclopedia of Life Sciences''. Nature Publishing Group, London. (Available online: [http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npg.els.0003736 DOI] | [http://www.els.net/ ELS site])

[[Category:Asterales|Asterales]]
[[Category:Magnoliopsida]]

[[ca:Asteral]]
[[cs:Hvězdnicotvaré]]
[[da:Kurvblomst-ordenen]]
[[de:Asternartige]]
[[es:Asterales]]
[[fr:Asterales]]
[[hr:Asterales]]
[[is:Körfublómabálkur]]
[[it:Asterales]]
[[he:אסטראים]]
[[la:Asterales]]
[[lt:Astriečiai]]
[[hu:Fészekvirágzatúak]]
[[ms:Asterales]]
[[nl:Asterales]]
[[ja:キク目]]
[[no:Asterales]]
[[pl:Astrowce]]
[[pt:Asterales]]
[[ro:Asterales]]
[[ru:Астроцветные]]
[[fi:Mykerökukkaismaiset]]
[[sv:Asterales]]
[[vi:Bộ Cúc]]
[[tr:Asterales]]
[[ur:نجمیطب]]
[[zh:菊目]]