What type of inflorescence in carrots: description and characteristics
Sowing carrots are biennial herbaceous plants of the umbrella family with a fruit arrow height of 60-70 cm. People called “carrots” mean a juicy orange root of an elongated cylindrical shape. The root crop of the plant is used for food, and reproduction occurs through the inflorescence. We will tell you in detail about what kind of inflorescence a carrot has.
The content of the article
What is an inflorescence
It is part of the plant's vegetative system, which forms flowers and subsequently carries seeds. Inflorescences are laid inside flower or mixed buds, and are located at the top of the annual shoot and are more or less clearly delimited from it.
The inflorescences form exclusively angiosperms at the top of the stem. In the course of evolution, such a structure appeared for the purpose of unhindered pollination by insects or wind.
Botanical description and characteristics of carrots
Carrots - biennial plant... Classification: kingdom Plants, department Flowering, class Dicotyledons, order Umbelliferous, family Umbelliferous, genus Daucus (Carrot).
In the year of planting, the plant forms a fleshy root crop and a rosette of basal pinnate strongly dissected leaves. The general outline of the leaves: broadly lanceolate, with long cuttings and intense green color.
On a note! Originally, the crop was grown for its aromatic seeds and leaves.
In the diversity of the genus, two varieties are distinguished:
- Wild carrots or common carrot (Daucus caróta). Grows in nature, unsuitable for food. Growth area - Eurasia, Africa, Australia.
- Sowing carrot (Daucuscarota sativus). Wild subspecies. Cultivated by humans on all continents, in regions with mild and temperate climates.
There are two types of cultivated carrots:
- Stern. It is cultivated for the purpose of obtaining feed raw materials for cattle, poultry and small domestic animals. The root crop has a cylindrical or elongated-conical shape and is not used for the human diet. The length of the root crop reaches 40-50 cm, the color is from light to dark orange.
- Canteen. Varieties with different ripening periods (early ripening, mid-ripening, late-ripening) and a growing season of 90-100 days. Root vegetables of table carrots of any kind are consumed raw or after heat treatment. The crop is suitable for long-term storage in winter.
The chemical composition of the vegetable unique and varied. Ripe root vegetable contains carotene, vitamins group B, lycopene, ascorbic and pantothenic acid, sugars and other micro- and macroelements vital for humans.
Depending on the variety, table carrots are white, yellow, orange, red and even purple. The ratio of coloring pigments (carotenoids and anthocyanins) affects the color of root crops. The shape of the root crop is from round to elongated-cylindrical or conical, with a sharp or rounded tip. The vegetable is one of the ten strategically important food crops in the world.
Interesting! Carrot tops contain 6-7 times more vitamin C than root vegetables.
Carrots are bred by sowing seeds in the ground in early spring or late autumn under the snow. The highest yields are obtained from light loamy and sandy loam soils, subject to deep plowing of the arable horizon. Seeds germinate at a soil temperature of 0 ... + 3 ° C.
The first shoots easily tolerate frosts down to -3 ... -4 ° С, therefore the culture is classified as cold-resistant. The optimum temperature regime for intensive growth and development of root crops is + 22 ... + 25 ° С.
Inflorescence type in carrots
Carrots, like parsley, have an inflorescence of a complex umbrella, consisting of several simple umbrellas. The culture blooms in the second year of growth, after which it gives seeds.
Description and characteristics
The plant throws out a strong erect ribbed stem in the second year. The height of the stem in the table culture is 60-7 cm, in the wild one - up to 1.2 m.
Carrots are classified as insect pollinated plants. The flowering period is extended - up to 45 days. Fruits are small elliptical dicensenses up to 5 mm long with two rows of thorns.
Appearance
The inflorescence is a complex umbrella of 10-15 rough-pubescent rays, spread out during flowering. The flowers are bisexual, collected in round umbrellas.
Flower type: green calyx, inconspicuous teeth, five light petals, five stamens, pistil with a lower ovary.
Inflorescence classification
Flowers in a complex umbellate inflorescence of carrots sit on axes of the second order, the distances between the axes are shortened. The second-order axes depart from the first-order axis. The distance between the pedicels is shortened, they move away from the tops of the second-order axes. The axes of the second order are equal in height. The set of bracts at the axes of the second order constitutes a common envelope, at the base of the pedicels - a particular one. Flowers bloom from the periphery to the center. Each next order blooms after the previous one.
Read also:
Features of red carrots without a core.
Conclusion
The carrot inflorescence belongs to complex, monopodial umbels with pronounced common and partial envelopes. Self-dumped seeds produce bitter, unsuitable root crops the following year. This means that table carrots need constant selection in compliance with the rules of agricultural technology to preserve varietal characteristics.