pappus noun. ['papǝs] Pl. pappi ['papʌɪ, -i:]. E18.
[Latin from Greek pappos lit. 'grandfather'.]
Botany. An arrangement of hairs on certain fruits, esp. achenes in plants of the composite family, which assists their aerial dispersal (as in dandelions and thistles); gen. the reduced calyx, consisting of hairs, scales, bristles, or teeth, etc., present in most plants of the composite family.

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