Awn (botany)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Awn" botany – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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 various plant families, including Geraniaceae and many grasses (Poaceae).

Among grasses with awns are those commonly known as foxtails, which tend to stick to animals passing by the plant.