Chrysanthemums, sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus Chrysanthemum in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center of diversity is in China. Countless horticultural varieties and cultivars exist.
Chrysanthemum
Historical painting of chrysanthemums from the New International Encyclopedia, 1902
Pollen
C. indicum
The family Asteraceae, with the original name Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae were first described in the year 1740. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger family is unclear as the quantity of extant species in each family is unknown.
Asteraceae
A typical Asteraceae flower head showing the (five) individual ray florets and the (approximately 16) disk florets of a specimen of (Bidens torta)
Discoid flowerheads of Delairea odorata.
Anemochory in Carlina