Title: Plants and People
1Plants and People
- Major Families II
- Grains and Legumes
2Why grains and legumes? And why together?
3Grain legume complete protein
That peanut butter sandwich is looking pretty
good now, isnt it?
4Poaceae - The Grass Family
- Humans devote more than 70 of the Earths
farmlands - to the production of cereal grains
- Grasses provide at least 50 of the worlds
caloric - intake
- Some anthropologists are of the opinion that
the use of - cereal grain was a prerequisite for the
formation of a civilization
5Vegetative Characteristics
6Grass Inflorescence
The spikelet is the basic unit of grass
inflorescence, with one or more florets making up
the spikelet. The spikelet is subtended by two
sterile bracts known as glumes. The glumes
define the spikelet they and everything above
them make up the spikelet.
Spikelet
7Floral Morphology
Flowers of the grass family are highly reduced
and non-showy and are described using unique
terminology.
- The perianth has been reduced to structures
colled lodicules, located at the base of the
ovary (these may be absent) - The mature ovary (fruit) is termed a grain or
caryopsis - Each flower is enclosed by two fertile bracts,
with the larger, lower bract, the lemma enclosing
the usually smaller, upper bract termed the palea - The tip of a glume, lemma or palea may be
extended into a bristle-like structure called an
awn - The lemma, palea and the flower make up the
floret
8Floral Morphology
An oat spikelet
palea 1
palea 2
awn 1
stigma
anthers
lemma 1
lemma 2
awn 2
glumes
9The Beans
Fabaceae/ Papilionoideae/ Faboideae
Caesalpiniaceae/ Caesalpinoideae
Mimosaceae/ Mimosoideae
Legumes
10The Bean Families
- Everyone agrees that the legumes form a
coherent whole based on the presence of a single
carpel that matures into a legume. - They can be divided into three groups based on
the arrangement and structure of the androecium
and perianth, collectively called the
androperianth. - The question is whether to
- --treat them all as a single family Fabaceae
(broad sense) with - three subfamilies
- or
- --treat them as separate families in the order
Fabales.
11Fabaceae (strict sense), Papilionoideae/Faboideae
Flowers in Fabaceae are zygomorphic and
papilionaceous (butterfly-like). The corolla is
consists of 5 petals a banner, 2 wings, and a
fused keel. The banner is exterior to the
wings.
12The fused keel encloses the unique androecium, 10
stamens in 9 fused 1 free arrangement (this is
termed diadelphous.) The stamens surround the
style but are not fused to it.
13Caesalpiniaceae/ Caesalpinioideae
Flowers in the Caesalpiniaceae Family are
zygomorphic and papilionaceous (butterfly-like).
The corolla is consists of 5 petals a banner, 2
wings, and 2 un-united keel petals. There are 10
stamens that are free and often unalike. The
banner is usually located interior to the wings.
banner
wings
keel petals (not fused)
14Mimosaceae/Mimosoideae
Flowers in the Mimosaceae are actinomorphic.
Many tiny flowers, each with long, showy stamens,
are grouped into globose or elongated
inflorescences. These stamens are the showy part
of the flower, rather than petals. The corolla
is either free or fused.
stamens
corolla
calyx
an individual flower
15Pseudocereals
A pseudocereal is a plant that produces a
grain-like fruit That is not a true caryopsis.
Often, these plants are grown in areas that are
too cold, too dry, or too high to grow cereals
successfully.
16Quinoa
Chenopodium quinoaChenopodiaceae Native to the
Andes of South America. Cultivated since about
3,000 B.C. Tolerates high altitude, cold,
drought. Does well in parts of North America.
17Amaranth
Various species of Amaranthus--Amaranthaceae. Nat
ive to the Americas. Was a staple of the Aztecs.
Cultivated since ca. 6,000 BC. High in lysine.
18Buckwheat
Fagopyrum esculentum Polygonaceae Native to
Southeast Asia. Domesticated around 6,000 B.C.
19Lab Today
- Make sure to examine the oat spikelet dissected
for you under one of the microscopes and the
vegetative parts of a grass. - Sketch your own diagram of the oat spikelet,
labeling the important terms, and make sure you
understand the different parts of the spiklet! - Compare the sample legume material with
information given to you in lecture, paying close
attention to the arrangement and structure of the
androecium and perianth. - Examine the grains, legumes, and
pseudo-cereals, filling out the table provided
for todays lab
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