Anatomy and Morphology of Cotton

Since Sally-Ann is learning everything that needs to be known about cotton, she of course, needs to learn and understand all the parts that conform and the functions of the plant. 

Sally-Ann started reading a book that her aunt recommended her. The book is for agricultural engineers and her aunt thought it might be useful to her. The book has some technical language that Sally-Ann is not very sure what it means but she is willing to try.

The first chapter of the book says that cotton can be classified as a dicot. 

What in the world is a dicot! -Sally-Ann says to herself

Plants can be classified in two groups: monocots (one) and dicots (two). Cotton is a dicot. A dicot  is a plant that has two cotyledons. Cotyledons are the first leaves formed in a seed. Monocots and dicots may have the same plant tissues, but their anatomy and morphology are different. 

Characteristics commonly found in monocots plants are that they are woody or herbaceous, have leaves with netted venation, have vascular bundles in a ring,  have taproot system, and usually have an epigeal germination. 

As you can observe from the picture, clear physical characteristics can be differentiated. One of the clearest one would be the shape of the leaves. Monocots are characterized for having linear leaves with parallel veins. An example of a monocot that we see every day is grass. 

Diocots, on the other hand, have complex vein structures which allow the leaves to have a unique shape.  

It can also be clearly observed the difference between the roots. Monocots are characterised for having a fibrous root system. A fibrous roots system consists of several main roots that each one develops many lateral roots to form an interwoven mass. On the other hand, dicots are charectirized for having a tap root system. A tap root system usually consists of a large main root with small lateral roots. 

As Sally-Ann keeps reading the book, she finds herself getting distracted from the reading and thinking that cotton is actually a really interesting and unique crop. The fact that produces fiber that can be so easily harvest, meaning that it doesn't need to be "extracted" from the plant, you can just take it and thats it. Also, the fact that one single crop basically clothes the entire world is just fascinating.  

There are various reasons why cotton is so used and is the preferred fiber in the textile industry. One of the reasons is the ability that it has to absorb water, therefore is very easy to die it. 

On the left we can observe the different layers of a cotton fiber seen through a microscope. Throughout the fiber structure, specially between each layer there are various pores or capillary spaces. This pores can easily take and retain liquids and vapors. Thus, this structure and characteristics gives cotton their unique absorbing capacity.