Definition of "pappus" []

• A modified calyx, composed of scales, bristles, or featherlike hairs, in plants of the composite family, such as the dandelion and the thistle. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "_C_, a single flower, × 2. _o_, the ovary. _p_, the "pappus" (calyx lobes). _an. _ the united anthers."
• "The sepals (here called the "pappus") (_p_) have the form of fine hairs."
• "Dandelion has what is called a "pappus" attached to its seed, rather similar to the feathery tail of the Traveller's Joy."