Knowra Pappus Pappus A modified calyx attached to the fruit of many flowering plants, often forming hairs, bristles, or scales. It can aid fruit dispersal or protect the developing flower.
Wind dispersal : The movement of seeds or fruits by air currents away from their parent plants. Pappus hairs and bristles increase drag, helping wind carry fruits.
Calyx : The outer floral whorl, usually made of sepals, that encloses a flower bud. A pappus is a modified calyx, often representing reduced or transformed sepals.
Biomimetics : The study and practice of using biological structures or processes as models for engineered systems. Engineers borrow pappus geometry to design objects that move or disperse through air.
Samara : A winged, dry fruit whose shape enables it to spin or glide through air. A samara generates lift with a fruit wall, while a pappus typically slows descent with hairs or scales.
Terminal velocity : The steady speed a falling object reaches when drag balances gravity. A pappus lowers a fruit’s falling speed by increasing aerodynamic drag.
Sepal : A usually green, leaflike floral organ that forms part of the calyx. Pappus bristles, scales, or hairs can derive from sepals.
Dandelion seed-inspired microfliers : Small flying devices modeled on dandelion fruits and their parachute-like pappi. These devices adapt pappus-induced drag for slow, passive flight and sensing.
Plume (botany) : A featherlike plant structure that can assist the movement of a seed or fruit through air. A plume can resemble a pappus, but the terms describe structures with different botanical origins.
Dandelion : A flowering plant genus whose fruits bear a stalked, feathery pappus. Its parachute-like pappus is a familiar example of wind-assisted dispersal.
Flower : The reproductive structure of an angiosperm, containing organs that produce gametes and develop into fruit and seed. The pappus originates in the floral calyx and remains on the resulting fruit.
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