Pappus (botany) Pappus (botany) The pappus is the modified calyx, the part of an individual floret, that surrounds the base of the corolla tube in flower heads of the plant family Asteraceae. The term is sometimes used in other plant families such as Asclepiadaceae (milkweeds), whose seeds have a similar structure attached, although it is not related to the calyx of the flower. The Asteraceae pappus may be composed of bristles (sometimes feathery), awns, scales, or may be absent. In some species, the pappus is too small to see without magnification. In species such as Dandelion or "Eupatorium", feathery bristles of the
Calyx (anatomy) Calyx (anatomy) Calyx is a term used in animal anatomy for some cuplike areas or structures. Latin, from "calyx" (from Ancient Greek "κάλυξ, "case of a bud, husk"). The spicules containing the basal portion of the upper tentacular part of the polyp of some soft corals (also called "calice"). A body part of the Entoprocta from which tentacles arise and the mouth and anus are located. The body disk that is covered with a leathery tegumen containing calcareous plates (in crinoids and ophiuroids the main part of the body where the viscera are located). Either a minor calyx in the