Awn (botany)
in botany, either a hair- or bristle-like appendage on a larger structure, or in the case of the Asteraceae, a stiff needle-like element of the pappus; in grasses, they typically extend from the lemmas of the florets
An awn is a hairy or bristle-like growth on a plant.
On the seeds of grasses such as barley or rye, they form foxtails which assist seed dispersal by being barbed and so sticking to passing animals. Also, the awns may twist or curl as they are wetted and dry out and this action can make fallen seeds walk until they fall into a crevice into which they then burrow.
Besides grasses, other families of plants which have awns include Asteraceae such as sunflowers and Geraniaceae such as geraniums. In the latter, the awns help disperse the seeds by developing a tension which then catapults the seeds when the seed head ripens and dries out.
Description
In grasses, awns typically extend from the lemmas of the florets. This often makes the hairy appearance of the grass synflorescence. Awns may be long (several centimeters) or short, straight or curved, single or multiple per floret. Some biological genera are named after their awns, such as the three-awns (Aristida).
In some species, the awns can contribute significantly to photosynthesis, as, for example, in barley.
The public source identifies “Awn (botany)” as in botany, either a hair- or bristle-like appendage on a larger structure, or in the case of the Asteraceae, a stiff needle-like element of the pappus; in grasses, they typically extend from the lemmas of the florets. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around botany, either and hair-.
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This entry incorporates text from “Awn (botany)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.