pappus
Sign in to savea modified calyx found in Asteraceae plants that sometimes functions in seed dispersal
~2 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The pappus-clad fruits that make up the familiar "dandelion clock" being dispersed by the wind (family Asteraceae) Bidens frondosa achenes with barbed pappus
In Asteraceae, the pappus is the modified calyx, the part of an individual floret, that surrounds the base of the corolla tube in flower. It functions as a dispersal mechanism for the achenes that contain the seeds.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “pappus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.