Samara

Samara is a term with several uses in botany, geography, and onomastics. In biology, it refers to a winged fruit designed for wind dispersal. It is also the name of a city in Russia and a female given name in various cultures.

In botany, a samara is a dry, indehiscent fruit with a wing of tissue that aids dispersal by wind. The seed is typically attached at the base and the wing extends around part of the fruit. Samaras are common in several plant families, notably Acer (maples) and Fraxinus (ashes).

Maple samaras usually occur in pairs that hang from the tree, forming a two-winged fruit sometimes called a helicopter because the paired wings cause the seeds to spin as they fall. By contrast, ash produces single-winged seeds, often referred to simply as keys, that glide away from the tree.

Samara, Russia: The city of Samara is situated on the Volga River in the western part of Russia and serves as the administrative center of Samara Oblast. It has a long industrial and cultural history and was named Kuybyshev during much of the Soviet period.

As a given name, Samara is used in various languages and cultures, often without a specific meaning beyond its use as a personal or place name.