Where do cereals come from, and what year does their appearance on the planet date from? It is hard to believe, but the first mention of these plants falls on the period even before our era. Thanks to what features of the structure, cereals were able to reach wide distribution in the modern period?
The systematic position of cereal plants
The Cereals family is a typical representative of the Higher Plants of the Angiosperms and Monocotyledonous Classes. They have a leaf-stem structure and in the process of development form a flower and a fruit. Like all monocotyledons, they are characterized by the presence of one cotyledon in the embryo, a fibrous root system. lack of cambium, linear simple leaves. According to these characteristics, cereals are part of these systematic units.
Cereal Family: Characteristic Features
Considering the question of where the cereals come from, it is immediately worthwhile to study the relationship between the structural features and the growth of these organisms. These plants are known since BC. However, over time, their significance not only did not decrease, but also increased significantly. For example, this kind of perennial plants of the cereal family, like wheat, “feeds” all of humanity on the planet. After all, flour, bakery, confectionery, cereals and pasta are produced from it.
All cereal plants are grassy. They have a hollow stem called a straw. On it, the places of attachment of the leaves - nodes, are clearly distinguished. Type of growth - insertion. Leaves of cereal simple, sessile, with parallel venation. Flowers are also distinguished by a special structure. They have three stamens and one pistil, which branches into two parts. Such structures are wind-pollinated, therefore, collected in inflorescences. They are called ears of corn. When they ripen, a fruit is formed.
Where the cereals come from
The question of the origin of cereals is rooted in prehistoric times. This period dates back to the 4th-5th centuries BC. It was at this time that a person began to grow wheat. India, Ethiopia, Greece, Macedonia, Mesopotamia ... From there, cereal plants spread throughout Asia, to America, Australia, Africa. Now this culture is grown everywhere, and countries compete in terms of its production. But corn, on the contrary, came to Eurasia from the west. For example, in Russia it began to be cultivated only in the 15th century. Therefore, it is definitely quite difficult to answer the question of where the cereals come from.
An interesting fact is that rye as a separate culture began to grow almost by accident. For a long time it was considered a weed that spreads among the seedlings of wheat. In the northern regions, the main culture could not adapt and died, and rye developed well. Now bread from this cereal is very popular everywhere.
Many scientists claim that barley was originally grown on the planet. It was very common and popular in the temperate and even northern regions of the planet. But low temperatures became fatal for the existence of this species. Therefore, barley was replaced by wheat and rye.
The value of cereal plants
Cereal plants are both the oldest and most modern plants. For example, rice is currently included in the diet of more than 60% of the world's population. The same indicator characterizes the production of sugar from cane, which is also a cereal plant. But wheat, rye, barley and millet remain indispensable crops for the production of bread and cereals.
Cereals are one of the most ancient plants that a person uses in his life.