Pappus

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Pappus, in a composite flower, is the element of the individual disk and ray flowers that surrounds the flower structure, in the same manner at the base as calyx does in a non-compound flower. Pappuses may be like bristles, teeth or scales and are usually too diminutive to discern without some type of magnification device. The etymology of this name is that it derives from the Ancient Greek word pappos, Latin pappus, meaning old man, but also used for a plant – assumed to be an Erigeron species – having bristles, and also for the woolly, hairy seed of certain plants.

External links

• Asteraceae morphology
• Composite flowers

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Last updated on Friday November 23, 2007 at 00:34:14 PST (GMT -0800)
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