A plant family (also called Asteraceae) characterized by tiny flowers densely clustered into a composite flower head.
From Latin compositus, 'composite.' This was the scientific family name used from the 18th century until the late 20th century, when it was renamed Asteraceae.
The reclassification from Compositae to Asteraceae shows how science constantly revises itself—the flowers weren't different, but our molecular understanding changed, so the name had to catch up with the DNA evidence!
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