The anatomy
of a plant refers to the study of arrangements of cells, tissues, organs and
other structures of an organism. Where, on the other side Morphology is
explained as the study of the form and structure of plants. This article is
explaining the anatomy and morphology of Quinoa.
First of
all, Quinoa is a dicot plant which means that it has 2 seed leaves or cotyledon
within the embryo. The embryo which constitutes the root and the cotyledon is
surrounding the seed Perisperm. The Perisperm is the storage organ in the
quinoa seed and contains primary starch. Besides the central Perisperm, other
two areas are classified to reserve food in the quinoa seed. These are the
peripheral embryo and the one to two layered Endosperm, which is surrounding
the hypocotyl- radicle axis of the embryo. (I.Prego, 1998) The major difference between Cereal grains
and the quinoa fruit is therefore that the storage reserves for the developing
embryo can be found in the Perisperm rather than the endosperm.
Figure1: Chenopodium
Quinoa seed
The
Picture shows the Chenopodium quinoa seed and explains chemical compostion and how it is made uto the left p. The abbreviations stand for the followig. PE:
Pericarp, SC: Seed cover, EN: Endosperm, C: Cotyledons, H: Hypocotyl, SA:
Apical Meristem, R: Radicle, P: Perisperm, F:Funiculus,
As Quinoa is from the genus Chenopodium, the plant has incomplete
flowers without petals. Accordingly the flowers are hermaphrodite or female,
where the hermaphrodite has a size between 2 and 5 mm and consists of 5
numbered perigoniums. Additionally it has a pistol with two or three branched
stigma which is surrounded by 5 Stamen. The female flowers on the other side
have a size of one to three mm and consist of five numbered perigonium and
pistol. (Plantwise Knowledge bank, n.d)
Figure 2: Quinoa plant (Australian Quinoa. n.d)
References
The basic
colors of the quinoa plant are green, purple and red. However the color of the
plant changes in general during the maturity phase of the plant. Therefore
green plants become white, yellow, orange or red at maturity. Where on the other
side, purple plants might turn yellow or even stay purple when maturing. And the
red Quinoa plants stay red throughout their life. The different colors of
Quinoa are due to the wide spectrum of colors which can be found in the
vegetative organs and the Perigonium. The color of the pericarp ranges in
colors from yellow, red, orange and white through to black and brown.
Quinoa has
a vigorous, deep- routing tap root system which is divided below the root- neck,
giving rise to secondary and tertiary roots. Due to the developed branched
system, the plant is more resistant to drought.
The leaves
of the Quinoa plant are long, fine and furrowed. The task of the leaves is to possess morphological
adaptions, which helps the plant to withstand drought during growth.
The stem of
the Quinoa plant is below the root- neck but above the alternating positions of
the leaves. The cortex of the plant is firm and compact where the outer stem
might be green, green with purple or red stripes, red or green with red axils.
The branches of the Quinoa plant are originating from the axils of each leaf on
the stem. Therefore the length of the branches might vary from a few
centimeters to the same length as the main stem which actually depends on the
cultivar as well as the environmental conditions. When a Quinoa plant is
cultivated on low density, the plant is likely to branch to some to some extent
which is seen as an undesirable characteristic for grain production. Therefore,
branching need to be minimized by cultivation techniques.
As Quinoa is from the genus Chenopodium, the plant has incomplete
flowers without petals. Accordingly the flowers are hermaphrodite or female,
where the hermaphrodite has a size between 2 and 5 mm and consists of 5
numbered perigoniums. Additionally it has a pistol with two or three branched
stigma which is surrounded by 5 Stamen. The female flowers on the other side
have a size of one to three mm and consist of five numbered perigonium and
pistol. (Plantwise Knowledge bank, n.d) Figure 2: Quinoa plant (Australian Quinoa. n.d)
The plant can reach a height of 6 ½
ft and arrives at its final maturity between 90 to 125 after it has been
planted. The picture to the right shows a basic figure of the quinoa plant and
describes briefly its most important characteristics.
References
Bank, P. K.
(n.d). Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) . year access: 2016 from http://www.plantwise.org/KnowledgeBank/Datasheet.aspx?dsid=12655
Imelda Prego, S. M. (12. March 1998). Seed
Structure and Localization of Reserves in Chenopodium quinoa. Year
accessed: 2016 from
http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/content/82/4/481.full.pdf
Quinoa, A. (n.d ). The quinoa plant .year
accessed:2016 from
http://www.ausquinoa.com.au/the-quinoa-story/the-quinoa-plant/
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