asteraceae Archives - Lizzie Harper

Dandelions: Why to love them

Posted on 20th March 202615th May 2026 in Botany: Telling species apart

I’ve been illustrating a Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, recently, and want to do a blog about why they are such beautiful and successful wildflowers. Distribution and adaptability Dandelions are incredibly common, growing in meadows, gardens, cracks in the pavement, and almost anywhere with enough soil for them to establish themselves. They’re adaptable and brilliant at colonizing […] Read more

Wildflower families: Asteraceae

Posted on 28th November 202528th November 2025 in Wildflower families

Wildflower families: Asteraceae, the Daisy family is one in a series of blogs on common flower families. My online Field Studies Council course gave me the idea for this series. I spend a lot of time drawing wildflowers, so it’s a good to learn more about their families and similarities and differences. For descriptions of […] Read more

Comparing Goldenrod Species

Posted on 28th August 202028th August 2020 in Botany: Telling species apart

Comparing Goldenrod species was one of my tasks in a recent commission for a Horticultural company in Sweden. All the illustrations were sketchbook studies. Every plant was an invasive. Overview of Canadian Goldenrod Solidago canadensis and Early Goldenrod Solidago gigantea The focus of the illustration is the Canadian goldenrod. Most Goldenrods are native to the […] Read more

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Botanical Illustration – Tips on painting Composite flowers

Posted on 6th April 201314th November 2018 in botanical terms

When doing a botanical illustration of a flower, a bit of basic botany helps enormously. This week, I’m going to discuss a really abundant plant type; the members of the daisy family (the latin term for these plants is Asteraceae, formerly known as the Compositae). The terminology of flower parts can be complex, so below is a […] Read more