Question

Dandelions are plants that have a papus of hair attached to each of their seeds. The purpose of the papus is to
(a) Attach the seeds to animals
(b) Attach the seeds to the mother plants
(c) Allow the seed to absorb water
(d) Allow the seed to be carried by the wind

Answer 1

Hint: The plant having hairy attachment on stigma is known as the anemophilous flowers which show cross-pollination through the wind. In this plant flower is generally colourless, nectar less and odourless therefore animals generally do not get attracted to this plant.

Complete answer:
Anemophilous flowers show hairy, feathery or branched stigma with small, smooth, non-sticky and light pollen grains. These pollen grains float in the air and help in pollination. The Dandelions plants show papus of hair attached to each of their seeds. This property is similar to an anemophilous plant therefore the papus of the seed allows the seed to travel by the wind and show wind pollination.
An anemophilous flower is small and is packed in inflorescence where the non-essential floral part is reduced and absent. The flower in this plant is colourless, nectarless and odourless therefore this plant does not attract animals, birds and insects. The pollen grains are dry and unwettable which helps to protect the pollen from moisture. In the unisexual plant, the male plant is abundant whereas in the bisexual plant the stamen are more abundant. This type of pollination is commonly shown by grasses and plants like Amaranthus, Cannabis, Coconut, Willow etc.

So, the correct answer is 'Allow the seed to be carried by the wind'.

Note:
In the case of some anemophilous plant the anther bursts forcefully and throws out the pollen in the air. This type of mechanism is known as the gunpowder mechanism.
The long-distance movement of pollen decreases the pollen number and also decreases the chances of pollination. Long-distance movement of pollen is shown by pine which is up to 1300km.