pappus

[pap-uhs]

noun

Botany.

plural

pappi 

1. a downy, bristly, or other tuftlike appendage of the achene of certain plants, as the dandelion and the thistle.

pappus

/ ˈpæpəs /

noun

1. a ring of fine feathery hairs surrounding the fruit in composite plants, such as the thistle; aids dispersal of the fruits by the wind

pappus

plural

pappi 

1. A structure made of scales, bristles, or featherlike hairs that is attached to the seeds (called cypselae) of plants of the composite family and that aids in dispersal by the wind. The downy part of a dandelion or thistle seed is a pappus. The pappus is derived from a modified calyx.

Other Word Forms

• pappose adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pappus¹

1695–1705; < New Latin < Greek páppos down, literally, grandfather (taken as greybeard, white hairs, down)

Word History and Origins

Origin of pappus¹

C18: via New Latin, from Greek pappos grandfather, old man, old man's beard, hence: pappus, down

Example Sentences

Turning to the car to leave, I see the white globe of a dandelion pappus float past the driver’s window and gently land by the front wheel.

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He called his soldiers pappi, and many soon felt comfortable enough around him to call him the same.

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This tuft, called a pappus, is made up of a sparse thicket of filaments, or bristles, that look something like the sprouting hair on the head of the Chinese crested dog.

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This vortex travels above the pappus and yet is not attached to it, an invisible yet faithful familiar that generates lift and prolongs the seed’s descent.

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Achenes obovoid, with a small summit and no pappus.—Herbs or shrubby plants, bitter and aromatic, with small commonly nodding heads in panicled spikes or racemes; flowering in summer.

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