Day 297: When a plant is said to be a "composite" (i.e., it belongs to the family Asteraceae), the term refers to the structure of the inflorescence. The blossom (a non-scientific and indefinite word) as we perceive it actually contains two different types of flower: ray and disk. In many cases, the showy ray flowers (usually sterile) surround a tight cluster of much tinier disk flowers containing the plant's reproductive parts. The ray flowers serve as attractors for pollinators. Oregon Sunshine (Eriophyllum Lanatum, aka Woolly Sunflower) is an excellent example of a composite.
When botanizing with Your Humble Narrator, you would find that I generally break subalpine composites into two categories: yellow daisies and purple daisies. Both occur at Mount Rainier National Park in abundant numbers and varieties. The field guides and manuals required to distinguish many of them would easily fill an expedition-sized backpack, although Oregon Sunshine's woolly, silvery leaves clearly set it apart from the rest.
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