{{short description|Botanical term}} In botanical terminology, a '''phyllary''', also known an '''involucral bract''' or '''tegule''', is a single bract of the involucre of a composite flower.<ref name=jepsongloss/><ref name=nybggloss/><ref name=miflora/> The involucre is the grouping of bracts together. Phyllaries are reduced leaf-like structures that form one or more whorls immediately below a flower head.<ref name=jepsongloss/>
==Function== Phyllaries provide protection to developing flowers and fruits.<ref name=kew/> In the dandelion hybrid ''Taraxacum japonicum'' × ''officinale'', recurved phyllaries help defend the flowers from herbivory by slugs.<ref name=wu2017/>
They sometimes assist in the dispersal of fruits.<ref name=kew/> The hooked phyllaries of burdock species (''Arctium'') cling to the fur and feathers of animals, dispersing the seeds away from the parent plant (exozoochory).<ref name=hawthorn1978/><ref name=clark2012/>
==Structure and arrangement== Phyllary morphology is useful in plant identification as between species of the Asteraceae family, they may vary in number, shape, width, length, hairiness, presence of glands, or texture.<ref name=miflora/>
{{Gallery |width=150 |height=150 |align=center |File:Balsamorhiza hookeri (23151243349).jpg|''Balsamorhiza hookeri'' phyllaries are widely separated, hairy, stiff, and point away from the stem. |File:Aster vs Daisy phyllaries.jpg|The aster phyllaries (left) are short, curl away from the plant, and are in several layers. The daisy phyllaries (right) are long, hairy, and clasp the base of the flower head. |File:Silphium pinnatifidum phyllaries.jpg |These ''Silphium pinnatifidum'' phyllaries are graduated, with those closer to the flower longer than the outer layers. |title=}}
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=clark2012>{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Patterson |title=Burdock: Sowing seeds with fur and bur |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/metro/urban-jungle/pages/121120.html?noredirect=on |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=26 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref> <ref name=hawthorn1978>{{cite journal |last1=Hawthorn |first1=Wayne R. |last2=Hayne |first2=P. D. |title=Seed production and predispersal seed predation in the biennial composite species, ''Arctium minus'' (Hill) Bernh. and ''A. lappa'' L. |journal=Oecologia |date=1 January 1978 |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=283–295 |doi=10.1007/BF00344907 |pmid=28309875 |bibcode=1978Oecol..34..283H |s2cid=6102531 |language=en |issn=1432-1939}}</ref> <ref name=jepsongloss>{{cite web |title=Jepson Herbarium: Jepson Flora Project: Jepson eFlora: Glossary |url=http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/glossary.html |website=ucjeps.berkeley.edu |access-date=26 May 2019}}</ref> <ref name=kew>{{cite web |title=Glossary of botanical terms for Compositae |url=http://www.kew.org/science/tropamerica/boliviacompositae/glossary.html |website=www.kew.org |access-date=26 May 2019}}</ref> <ref name=miflora>{{cite web |last1=Reznicek |first1=A.A. |last2=Voss |first2=E.G. |last3=Walters |first3=B.S. |title=Asteraceae |url=https://michiganflora.net/family.aspx?id=ASTERACEAE |website=michiganflora.net |publisher=Michigan Flora |access-date=26 May 2019}}</ref> <ref name=nybggloss>{{Cite web|url=http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/glossary/glossary-list/?TerTerm=phyllary|title=NYGB Steele Herbarium Glossary|access-date=May 23, 2019}}</ref> <ref name=wu2017>{{cite journal |last1=Wu |first1=Fu-Yu |last2=Yahara |first2=Tetsukazu |title=Recurved Taraxacum phyllaries function as a floral defense: experimental evidence and its implication for Taraxacum evolutionary history |journal=Ecological Research |date=1 May 2017 |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=313–329 |doi=10.1007/s11284-017-1444-5 |bibcode=2017EcoR...32..313W |s2cid=46343283 |language=en |issn=1440-1703}}</ref> }}
Category:Plant morphology Category:Flowers