A type of single-seeded dry fruit found in plants of the daisy family (Asteraceae), formed from an inferior ovary and typically crowned with a pappus (feathery bristles).
From Greek kypsele (small box or vessel), first used in botanical terminology in the 18th century because the fruit resembles a small container holding the seed.
Dandelion seeds with their iconic fluffy parachutes are cypselae—each seed's pappus acts like a tiny parachute, allowing wind dispersal over incredible distances, which is why dandelions colonized every continent and some seeds can travel over 5 miles from their source.
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