plant anatomy and what we're eating

We had a very talkative discussion in our last class about local vendors of organic or fresh foods. One place that I learned about was the UF student run butcher that is on campus in the Animal Sciences building. These animals are raised by students and provide a wider selection of meats that are otherwise hard to come by. Other food stores in Gainesville include the Co-Op, farmers market that meets on Wednesdays in downtown Bo Diddley plaza, as well as Mother Earth and Wards.

Also in our discussion we asked the question if whether or not it would be  sustainable to feed cows corn verses vegetable feeding in florida. The answer is no because corn in not widely crown here in Florida despite the large number of cattle here throughout the state.

Plant Anatomy -

There are two systems that make up the anatomy of most plants; the shoot system and the root system. In the shoot system there is the stem, nodes and internodes, the blade of the leaf buds and auxillary buds. The root system is made up of several lateral roots that stem from the primary root.

Stems:

• support leaves and flowers
• facilitate the transport of water and nutrients
• examples of stem plants include potatoes

Roots:

• anchor the plant
• absorb water and nutrients
• food storage
• examples
• beets, carrots, and turnips

Buds:

• Cabbage and brussel sprouts

Leafs:

• photosynthesize (solar panels of the plant :)
• convert CO2, water and sunlight into sugar and oxygen
• examples: lettuce, spinach, basil, onions, garlic and celery 

Flowers:

• califlour, squash flowers, artichoke, broccoli 

Fruits:

• House and Disseminate seeds
• examples: tomatoes, cuccumbers, eggplant, pumpkins, beans and peas, and peppers

Seeds:

• sexual reproductive part of the plant
• monocot and dicot seeds
• examples: scallions and palm trees