Everyone knows a plant like carrots. The family to which it belongs is very diverse. Parsnip, dill, celery, fennel ... All and not list. From our article you will learn about the features of the structure and growth of carrots, its beneficial properties and application.
Characterization of dicotyledonous plants
Let's start with the classification. Carrots are a dicotyledonous plant. Characteristic features of this systematic group are the presence of two cotyledons in the seed germ, reticular leaf venation, the root root system, and the presence of lateral educational tissue in the stem. Dicotyledons are a large and widespread group, including several dozen families.
To which family does carrot belong?
The Umbrellas family also belongs to dicotyledons . They got this name by their characteristic inflorescence, which is called a complex umbrella. What is its feature? Simple umbrellas diverge from the top of the common axis of such a structure. The bases of each of them are surrounded by bracts of leaf.
Parsley, celery, carrots ... What family do they represent? Of course, Umbrella. All of them have the correct small bisexual flowers. Most often, their petals are painted white. But there are blue and yellow cups. The number of petals is five, the pestle is one. Calyx has the appearance of teeth or is not developed at all.
Leaves with cirrus venation, dissected platelets. Umbrella fruit is a bifid achene. After ripening, it splits into two parts.
Close relatives
By the features of the structure, Umbrellas are very similar to Pink and Legumes. All of them have five-membered flowers. No exception and carrots. The Crucifer family, in contrast to them, has four petals in flower. Otherwise, their characteristic features are very different. This applies primarily to the flower. So, for the Rozovs it is correct, with a large number of stamens, and for the Bobovs it looks like a moth or a boat with a sail and oars.
Variety Celery
In addition to the well-known carrots, the Umbrella family is represented by a wide range of medicinal, food and aromatic plants. The first group includes fennel and anise. These plants contain aromatic oils, which are widely used in the pharmaceutical, perfumery and soap industries. The cake left over from their processing is rich in protein. Therefore, this product goes to feed livestock.
The spicy-aromatic Umbrella should include parsley, parsnip, cumin, dill, coriander. Moreover, different parts possess valuable properties in such plants: leaves, root crops, fruits and seeds.
Among Umbrellas there are also poisonous representatives. For example, hemlock. This property is due to the presence of a number of alkaloids. Even in ancient Greece, this substance was used as an official poison, which killed those who were sentenced to death. But since the time of Hippocrates, hemlock was used as a medicinal plant.
Obvious benefit
Carrots, whose family are also Umbrellas, has not only pleasant taste. The chemical composition of this product makes it also useful. Carrots are rich in vitamins of groups B, C, E. Of the trace elements can be called sodium, potassium, magnesium and chlorine, and from micro - iodine, copper, manganese and cobalt.
But this product is especially rich in vitamin A. Its deficiency causes a disease such as hemeralopia, or night blindness. A person suffering from it, poorly distinguishes the outlines of objects at dusk. And if he goes out of the light into the darkness, he will get used to it for a long time.
Vitamin A is also of great importance for the mucous membrane of the eye. Its deficiency leads to atrophy of the lacrimal glands. The consequence of this is the dryness of the cornea, its trauma and a decrease in protective functions. In turn, this can lead to the development of eye infections.
Economic value
From time immemorial, carrots have occupied a leading place in the sown area among vegetable crops. For example, in Russia, of the 20% allocated to these plants, a useful root crop occupies 15. Carrots are stored until the future harvest, which is also its advantage.
Valuable nutritional qualities are due to the high content of carbohydrates, in particular sucrose and glucose. Therefore, root crops are used in cooking both as an independent dish, and as an additive to salads and vegetable stews.
Feed species serve as food for cattle, piglets and poultry. Carrots are also grown as an industrial crop in order to obtain carotene in industry.
Biological features
Carrots are biennial plants. This means that in the first year she does not give fruits and seeds. In summer, only root crops with rosettes of leaves appear. Thanks to the modified main root, the plant tolerates an unfavorable cold period, and forms a seed bush in the new spring. Thus, the root crop is a storage organ. The aerial part is represented by hollow stems of a rounded or ribbed shape, reaching a length of about 1.5 m. The leaves are complex, with a dissected plate.
In the spring of the second year of development, inflorescences develop - complex umbrellas. The outer flowers in them are larger. The fruits ripen closer to autumn. Each of them consists of two seeds that are freely separated.
So, carrots belong to the Umbrella family. The characteristic features of this systematic group are the five-membered flower, the inflorescence is a complex umbrella and the fruit, which, after ripening, splits into two parts. This family includes valuable food, medicinal and spicy - aromatic plants.