Question

Dandelion seeds have radiating threads. Justify

Answer 1

The seeds of dandelions are efficiently dispersed on the wind thanks to tiny discs of radiating threads that act as parachutes. Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) achenes

Answer 2

Answer:

A single breath from a playing child can send dozens of fluffy dandelion seeds floating into the air. Now scientists find these seeds can keep themselves aloft by generating a type of vortex previously thought too unstable to exist, helping explain how these flowers have dispersed across the planet.

Each dandelion seed is attached to a bundle of roughly 100 feathery bristles known as a pappus, whose name derives from an ancient Greek word for grandfather due to its resemblance to a beard. This structure prolongs the descent of seeds by dragging on the air a bit like a parachute, ensuring that horizontal winds can help carry the seeds farther. Most dandelion seeds probably land within 2 meters of their parent flowers, but in warm, dry, windy conditions, some may fly more than a kilometer.

Dandelions are far from the only plants to use wind to help disperse their seeds. It was a puzzle as to why dandelions evolved plumes to help keep their seeds in the air, rather than winglike membranes, such as what maple seeds have.

To explore this question further, scientists at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland built a vertical wind tunnel to investigate the physics of dandelion seed flight. They blew air under dandelion seeds that were either freely flying or fixed in place, adding smoke into this wind and illuminating it with a green laser to help reveal the way air moved around the seeds.