AWN
(awn)
A
stiff bristle growing from the tip of certain grasses
Common
clues: Barley bristle; Grain beard; Grass appendage; Beard of
grain; Wheat covering; Cereal spike
Crossword
puzzle frequency:
two times a year
Video:
Barley field
growing season timelapse
In
botany, an awn is 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.
Awns
are characteristic of many grasses (Poaceae), where they extend
from the lemmas of the florets. They often make up the hairiness
or other distinctive appearance of foxtails and the like. Awns
may be long (several centimeters) or short, straight or curved,
single or multiple per floret. Some genera are named after their
awns, such as the three-awns.
Heavily
bearded flowers. Awns are twisted and bent at right angles when
mature
This
article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia
article "Awn".
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