pappus

American  

[pap-uhs] / ˈpæp əs /

noun

Botany.

plural

pappi

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

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pappus British  

/ 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

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pappus Scientific  

/ păp′əs /

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.

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Other Word Forms

• pappose
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pappus

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

From New York Times • Sep. 5, 2022

Those currents help keep the whole seed structure afloat by increasing the drag on the falling pappus.

From New York Times • Oct. 23, 2018

That happens because of the way air currents interact as they flow among the filaments of the pappus.

From New York Times • Oct. 23, 2018

The vortex also contributes to the support of the pappus, because it forms a low-pressure area so that air rises.

From New York Times • Oct. 23, 2018

Achenes oblong, flattened, wrinkled transversely; pappus short, of numerous rough bristles, separate and deciduous.—Coarse biennial weeds, with large unarmed and petioled leaves, and small solitary or clustered heads; flowers purple, rarely white.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa