The Moth family, almost immense in number, has spread in temperate climates and in tropical latitudes. As a rule, it is customary to refer to it as plants that differ in very recognizable flowers, similar in shape to a moth.
Moths are a family belonging to the angiosperms, and in their class they are dicotyledons, which numbers several tens of thousands of species. Annuals (such as beans) are mostly common, but perennials (such as clover) are also common. Shrubs (acacia), and even trees (rosewood) are much less common in this type of plant.
Types of moth plants
China meadow
Red clover
Clover medium
Clover lupine
Common mallow
Althea officinalis
Lupine
Beans
Mash
Peas
Lentils
Beans
Nut
Soybeans
Peanut
Tablecloth
Adenocarp
Adesmia
Alexa
Camelthorn plant
Ammodendron
Amorphous
Knitting
Bubble
Chingil
Sea buckthorn
Astragalus
Derris
Switzerland
Ulex
Vigna
Wisteria
Mirbelia
Alfalfa
Characteristic of moth
This family of plants numbers, according to objective estimates of experts, from 12 to 18 thousand species and includes both herbaceous plants and shrubs with trees, and within the family it is customary to distinguish three subfamilies, which, in turn, are divided into tribes and subtribes – in total more than nine hundred genera.
Plants of the legume family are cultivated for a variety of needs – from raw materials for medicinal products to food resources, and are most often used for the following purposes:
- Food plants – lentils, beans, soybeans and other legumes;
- Forage – clover, alfalfa, lupine;
- Medicinal – licorice, sweet clover;
- Technical – sophora, dyeing gorse;
- Decorative – acacia, wisteria.
And many of the representatives of this family belong to excellent honey plants – and aromatic and healing honey is extracted from their nectar.
About the flower and the root system of the moth
The most characteristic feature by which you can quickly and easily identify moth plants is the corolla belonging to the moth type. The flower petals are usually partially spliced and, as a rule, form an asymmetrical corolla between themselves, which in appearance resembles a small moth or a boat.
It is customary to distribute moth petals to:
- The large petal is the so-called sail or flag;
- Side lobes, which are called paddles or wings;
- Boat or keel.
Inside this boat, there is usually a pistil, which is surrounded by 10 stamens: 9 of them are spliced in many species, and one is free. Such an unusual corolla device is designed to protect the flower from insects that are ineffectively pollinating – flies, for example.
After all, in order to get to the pollen, the insect needs to cope with the petals – and this can only be done by the strongest of them – the same bumblebees. The insect, engaged in collecting pollen, sits on the boat and at the same time rubs its abdomen against those stamens that are located horizontally, thus collecting nectar.
Speaking about the root system of moths, it is worth noting that, using an organ such as root hairs, bacteria – nitrogen-fixing or nodule – enter the root cells from the soil. It is they who are engaged in the matter of absorption, and at the same time – assimilation of free nitrogen, while causing changes in size due to the active division of the cells themselves. As a result, the root system of this plant species has a peculiar decoration – nodules.
Due to this, all plant organs of this species are rich in nitrogenous substances – in particular, they are enriched in proteins. And after the plant has served its life, the soil is enriched with nitrogen.
Moth plants – video
Conclusion
Plants of the moth family are distributed almost all over the Earth – however, they grow most comfortably and abundantly in areas with a temperate climate.
Legumes differ from all other plant species precisely in their ability to bind nitrogen from the atmosphere. And therefore, representatives of this genus are often grown precisely for the purpose of reclamation or green manure.
