Everyone knows such a plant as carrots. The family to which it belongs is very diverse. Parsnips, dill, celery, fennel… You can't list them all. From our article you will learn about the features of the structure and growth of carrots, its beneficial properties and applications.
Characterization of dicot plants
Let's start with classification. Carrots are dicotyledonous plants. The characteristic features of this systematic group are the presence of two cotyledons in the seed embryo, reticulate leaf venation, tap root system, and the presence of lateral educational tissue in the stem. Dicots are a large and widespread group, including several dozen families.
What family does carrots belong to
The Umbelliferae family also belongs to the dicots. They acquired this name from the characteristic inflorescence, which is called a complex umbrella. What is its feature? From the top of the common axis of such a structure, simple umbrellas diverge. The foundations of eachsurrounded by bracts.
Parsley, celery, carrots… What family do they represent? Of course, Umbrellas. All of them have regular small bisexual flowers. Most often, their petals are painted white. But there are blue and yellow cups. The number of petals is five, the pistil is one. The calyx looks like teeth or is not developed at all.
Leaves with pinnate venation, dissected plates. The fruit of the Umbelliferae is a bipartite achene. After maturation, it splits into two parts.
Close relatives
Pink and Legumes are very similar to Umbelliferae in structural features. All of them have five-membered flowers. Carrots are no exception. The cruciferous family, unlike them, has four petals in a flower. Otherwise, their characteristic features are very different. This applies primarily to the flower. So, in Pink it is correct, with a large number of stamens, while in Legumes it looks like a moth or a boat with a sail and oars.
Variety of Celery
In addition to the well-known carrots, the Umbelliferae 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 that are widely used in the pharmaceutical, perfume and soap industries. The cake left over from their processing is rich in proteins. Therefore, this product is used as livestock feed.
To spicy-aromatic Umbrellashould include parsley, parsnip, cumin, dill, coriander. Moreover, different parts of such plants have valuable properties: leaves, roots, fruits and seeds.
Among Umbelliferae there are also poisonous representatives. For example, hemlock. This property is due to the presence of a number of alkaloids. Even in the days of Ancient Greece, this substance was used as an official poison, which was used to kill those who were condemned to death. But since the time of Hippocrates, hemlock has been used as a medicinal plant.
Obvious benefit
Carrots, which also belong to the Umbelliferae family, have more than just good taste. The chemical composition of this product makes it also useful. Carrots are rich in vitamins B, C, E. Of the trace elements, sodium, potassium, magnesium and chlorine can be called, and of the micro - iodine, copper, manganese and cob alt.
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 injury and reduced protective functions. In turn, this can lead to the development of eye infections.
Economic value
Carrots have long occupiedleading position in terms of sown area among vegetable crops. For example, in Russia, out of 20% allocated for these plants, a useful root crop takes 15. Carrots are stored until the next 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 addition to salads and vegetable stews.
Forage 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 it does not produce 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 in the new spring forms a seed bush. 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 compound, with a dissected plate.
In the spring of the second year of development, inflorescences develop - complex umbrellas. The outer flowers are larger. The fruits ripen closer to autumn. Each of them consists of two seeds that are freely separable.
So, carrots belong to the Umbelliferae family. The characteristic features of this systematic group are a five-membered flower, a complex umbrella inflorescence and a fruit, which, after ripening, splits into two parts. To thatthe family includes valuable food, medicinal and spicy - aromatic plants.
