Plants and People Texas AM Department of Biology植物和人德克萨斯一和生物系.pptVIP

Plants and People Major Families II Grains and Legumes Why grains and legumes? And why together? Grain + legume = complete protein That peanut butter sandwich is looking pretty good now, isn’t it? Poaceae - The Grass Family Humans devote more than 70% of the Earth’s farmlands to the production of cereal grains Grasses provide at least 50% of the world’s caloric intake Some anthropologists are of the opinion that the use of cereal grain was a prerequisite for the formation of a civilization Vegetative Characteristics Grass 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. Floret Glumes Spikelet Floral Morphology 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 Flowers of the grass family are highly reduced and non-showy and are described using unique terminology. Floral Morphology An oat spikelet: glumes anthers lemma 2 lemma 1 awn 1 awn 2 palea 1 palea 2 stigma The Beans Fabaceae/ Papilionoideae/ Faboideae Caesalpiniaceae/ Caesalpinoideae Mimosaceae/ Mimosoideae Legumes The 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 a