Species Diversity of Asteraceae around Universiti Malaysia Kelantan Jeli Campus, Kelantan

This study was conducted to identify the species diversity of Asteraceae around Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) Jeli Campus, Kelantan. Two methods were used during this study which was random quadrat sampling and general observation method. The random quadrat sampling method was carried out by 20 quadrats with size 1 m x lm distributed within five sampling area in UMK Jeli Campus and Pinggiran UMK area. A total of seven species of Asteraceae was identified and recorded from the random quadrat sampling and a total of 10 additional species was found during general observation. The diversity index for Asteraceae recorded around the study area which represented by Shannon Index, H' is 0.87 while the richness index of Asteraceae is 0.95. From the data record, the species of Asteraceae with the highest diversity is Ageratum conyzoides and the lowest diversity is Centratherum punctatum with diversity index of 0.19 and 0.04 respectively. All 17 species of Asteraceae recorded was compared in several characteristics such as vegetative, floral, and fruit. Then, based on the comparison table, a dichotomous key identification of Asteraceae was constructed to help students to identify and recognise the species.