Volume 37 of the Flora of Australia is the first of three volumes covering the family Asteraceae. This volume presents an introduction to the family in Australia, including a synoptic classification and keys, and treatments of all the tribes represented in Australia, with the exception of the large tribes Gnaphalieae and Astereae, which will each be the subject of a future volume of the Flora. Nineteen tribes, 233 genera and 518 species are treated in this volume, of which the majority are introduced (only 47 genera include native species). Asteraceae are the largest family of flowering plants, with over 1,600 genera and 24,000 species found on all continents except Antarctica, and also one of the largest families in Australia, with an estimated 290 genera and 1,430 species. The family is found throughout Australia, in all habitats, although scarce in rainforest.