dispersal_appendage

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• Label: Dispersal appendage
• Entity URI: https://w3id.org/APD/traits/trait_0012623
• Type: categorical
• Definition: A seed morphology trait [TO:0002629] which indicates external [NCIT:C44280] appendages [NCIT:C61460] on the seed [PO:0009010] or the seed's dispersal [OMIT: 0027297] structures [PATO:0000141] whose presumed function [NCIT:C25518] is to facilitate seed dispersal [EnvThes:21042].;External appendages of the dispersule presumed to facilitate seed dispersal away from the parent plant.
• Additional comments: None
• Allowed values:

  value	description
  aril	Fleshy outgrowth of a seed, that often attracts animals like birds or ants.
  bracts_and_glumes	When the bracts below the inflorescence are persistent and functional as dispersal appendages. This includes persistent glumes, the modified membranous bracts in the family Poaceae that surround the spikelet of a grass.
  bristles	Bristle-like projections. Trait value includes awns, which are slender, bristle-like projections in some grasses.
  elaiosome	Fleshy (often fatty) appendage on seeds that attracts ants.
  fleshy_reward	Broad term that includes a suite of appendages that provides a fleshy reward to attract dispersers; highest level of resolution available for some studies.
  floating_seed	Seed that is dispersed by floating on water.
  floral_parts	When some plant floral parts (the petals, sepals, or style) are persistent and aid in seed and fruit dispersal. This is a broad term not explicitly suggesting a dispersal mechanism.
  flotation_scales	Scales enhancing flotation, thereby assisting with dispersal.
  hairs	Modified hairs that aid in seed dispersal.
  hooks	A rear-facing point, as in a fish hook that aids in seed and fruit dispersal.
  inflated_parts	When some part of the seed, fruit, or associated tissues is inflated, aiding in seed or fruit dispersal.
  none	When a fruit and associated tissues lack any dispersal appendages. Includes exarillate and taxa with explicitly deciduous pappus.
  pappus	The calyx in Asteraceae that has been modified into bristles, hairs, scales or awns that are attached to the apex of the fruit. Taxa assigned this trait value have a persistent pappus that aids in dispersal, often, but not exclusively through wind dispersal. The pappus can also assist with flotation.
  plumose	Fruit, seed, style, or other floral component that is plumose and assists with dispersal.
  receptacle	Fleshy receptacle that aids in dispersal.
  sarcotesta	Fleshy seed coat that aids in dispersal.
  spines	Spines that aid in dispersal.
  tumbleweed	Plant growth form, whereby the aboveground plant component detaches from the roots and is readily rolled by wind across the ground, aiding in dispersal.
  wing_or_plume	Broad term that includes a suite of appendages that aid in wind dispersal; highest level of resolution available for some studies.
  wings	Referring to wing-like seed extensions that aid in wind dispersal.

See the AusTraits Plant Dictionary (https://w3id.org/APD/traits/trait_0012623) for additional information about this trait.

Coverage

For this trait, AusTraits includes a total of 3,988 records. This includes:

• data for 3,398 species.
• data for 141 families.
• data from 20 datasets (see the portal Citations tab for a list of sources)