calyx composed of scales or bristles or featherlike hairs in plants of the Compositae such as thistles and dandelions
source: WordNet 3.0
The hairy or feathery appendage of the achenes of thistles, dandelions, and most other plants of the order Compositæ; also, the scales, awns, or bristles which represent the calyx in other plants of the same order.
