Biology 2217B Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Sweet Potato, Colocasia Esculenta, Eggplant
17 May 2013
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High producers of starch in a nutritional manner. Mostly of tropical origin: farmed now in temperate climates as well. Most propagate asexually: advantage: exact same plant is produced, faster process. Made and stored in plastids: chloroplasts in leaves, and amyloplasts in roots. Breakdown of starch begins in the mouth: salivary enzymes, slightly sweet taste. In traditional diets, provides the lion"s share of carbohydrates: diversity of food sources has given more developed countries a variety of alternatives. Stems: stolons or runners horizontal stems, long internodes, found above ground, rhizhome horizontal underground stems, bulb vertical underground stem; food reserves in leaves, corm vertical underground stem; store food reserved in stem. Storage roots: tuber enlarged storage tips of rhizome, tuberous root fleshy fibrous roots, enlarged with food reserves, taproot biennial plants. Stem tubers: potato: true yams, formed on underground stems (rhizomes, eyes are buds formed at nodes. Tuberous storage roots: sweet potato: often misnamed as yams, modified fibrous roots enlarged with food reserves.
