Parallel venation of leaves occurs quite often in nature and is an important feature of plant classification. For which organisms it is typical and what are its features, we will consider in our today's article.
What is venation
Leaf is the most important organ of a plant that performs vital functions. First of all, this is the implementation of the process of transpiration and photosynthesis. The substances that are formed in this case move along a special leaf system. It is a collection of elements of conductive tissue or, more simply, veins. They can be placed in a different order. The nature of their location is called venation.
Venation types
There are three main types of venation. These are mesh, arc and parallel. Moreover, in nature there is a clear relationship between the shape of the leaf blade and the nature of the location of the veins. Consider this dependence on the example of several common plants. For example, the palmate leaves of a maple have a reticulate venation, in which the main vascular-fibrousbeam. Veins of the second and third orders depart from it. The same arrangement is typical for cherries, peaches, rose hips, soybeans, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage and many other dicotyledonous plants. Leaves of a linear shape have a different structure of the conducting system. If the main vein is not distinguished, and the neighboring ones depart from the base of the leaf from one point in arcs, and then join at its top, then this is an example of the second type. It is typical, for example, for lily of the valley and plantain. Parallel venation also occurs in linear leaves.
Parallel leaf venation
Already from the name it is clear that the veins in such leaves are parallel to each other. They run from the edge of the plate along it. Parallel venation is a characteristic feature of monocot plants. These include many representatives of the cereal, onion and lily families. The edge of their leaf blades is not dissected, but is absolutely even, which makes possible a parallel arrangement of veins.
Plants with parallel venation
In addition to parallel venation, monocotyledonous plants are characterized by the presence of an embryo with one cotyledon, a fibrous root system, the absence of cambium in the stem tissue, and vaginal leaves. Among the representatives of this systematic unit, grasses are most common, less often - shrubs.
Grain or bluegrass plants are of particular economic importance among them. Corn, wheat, rye, barley, rice - allfamous crops. Couch grass, bluegrass, timothy grass, bonfire are typical steppe plants that are perfectly adapted to the conditions of cold winters with little snow and hot dry summers. There are many valuable fodder crops among cereals.
Lilies, which are valuable ornamental and honey plants, also have representatives with parallel venation. They have an important underground modification of the shoot - the bulb. With it, these plants reproduce vegetatively and endure dry and frosty periods.
Onions are also widely distributed in nature. Most often they grow in meadows and forest clearings. Due to the presence of bulbs, they are also able to exist in the conditions of steppes, savannahs and deserts.
So, parallel venation is typical for monocots. This type of arrangement of the conducting elements of the leaf is represented by vascular-fibrous bundles, which are located along the plate of linear leaves.
