Spreading seeds
© Getty
This is a scanning electron microscope image of a dandelion seed. The head of a dandelion can hold as many as 400 of these, but they tend to average at around 180. The brown, bulbous portion is known as the achene. The achene dislodges from the head of its parent plant and is carried by an umbrella of white feathery structures called a pappus, acting as a parachute to ride wind currents.