Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Pappus

 
Wikipedia: Pappus (flower structure)
Pappus of Cirsium arvense

In flower heads of the plant family Asteraceae, Pappus is the part of an individual disk or ray floret surrounding the base of the corolla, equivalent to the calyx of a non-compound flower. The pappus may be like bristles or tiny hairs, teeth, or scales, and can be too small to see without magnification. In some species, such as Dandelion or Eupatorium, the pappus of the mature fruit functions as a "parachute" which enables the seed to be carried by the wind.[1] The name derives from the Ancient Greek word pappos, Latin pappus, meaning "old man", so used for a plant (assumed to be an Erigeron species) having bristles and also for the woolly, hairy seed of certain plants.

References

  1. ^ "Composite flowers". http://www.backyardnature.net/fl_comps.htm. 

External links


Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
 
 
Learn More
pappose
pappiform
thistledown

What is a pappus? Read answer...
Define pappus theorems? Read answer...

Help us answer these
Prove that the geometry of Pappus contains exactly nine lines?
What are the theorems of Pappus?
Pappus theorem problems with solution?

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pappus (flower structure)" Read more