The aster family is the largest of the angiosperms and classified into at least twelve subfamilies with many medicinal herbs. How does one tell them apart? In this quick, visual lecture, you will learn the distinguishing characteristics that are needed to key out this family. The inflorescences are in heads, subtended by a set of bracts, the flowers are of two types, disk and ray flowers, and these species have no sepals, but instead pappus above an inferior ovary called an achene. Dive into this family and find out why I call them DYCs = diverse yellow companions.