Where various plants are used in production. Project "Why do people need plants"

§ 50. HOW PEOPLE USE PLANTS

Which plant organs need mechanical tissues the most? Which plant organs store nutrients?
What happens during the year with tubers, bulbs and rhizomes?
Under what circumstances are they spent nutrients from different parts of the plant? How are grains, apples, carrots, cabbage stored?

Lena: People have learned how to make artificial substances. It turns out that plants are now not really needed by us.
Biologist: Whatever synthetic materials no matter how people have learned to do it, they will always need durable wood, and without plant foods from carbohydrates and fats, we are unlikely to learn to do. And plants provide us with oxygen on Earth.

Seeds - nutrient concentrate in safe packaging
Seeds should be light, but with a large supply of all the necessary nutrients. Therefore, in mature seeds there is little water, but there are a variety of nutrients - fats, proteins, starch. The seeds of some plants contain more proteins (peas, beans, beans, soybeans), others - fats (sunflower, flax, mustard), others - carbohydrates (rice). The seeds of many plants contain a lot of both proteins and carbohydrates (buckwheat, oats, wheat). Seeds are storable and are easiest for humans to store long time just the seeds.

100 grams of seeds contains:

Underground organs - canned food with a shelf life of a school year
In autumn and winter, underground shoots and roots survive underground, and in the spring they spend nutrients on the rapid formation of new shoots and flowers.
Potatoes, carrots, beets, radishes, onion and garlic in a dry, cool and dark place, in bulk, in boxes or in the sand, retain nutrients until spring, and then begin to germinate - therefore, unlike seeds, they cannot be stored for several years.

Various fruits in natural conditions kept for different periods
In the resettlement of plants, fruits participate in different ways. Some fall immediately after maturation, others dry on the branches and attract animals for a long time. People breed varieties of plants from. extended shelf life of fruits and create special storage conditions for them. Often people pick fruits unripe - such fruits last longer, but their aroma is not so strong.

Edible leaves usually do not lie long
People use for food plates and petioles of the leaves of many plants - lettuce, onions, parsley, cabbage, rhubarb. A person does not digest cell walls, there are no reserve substances in the leaves of greenery, and a person assimilates only the substances of the cytoplasm of living cells.
With rare exceptions, leaves are not designed to store nutrients; leaves are actively working organs that quickly wither after cutting. Only the leaves of cultivars of cabbage are stored in the cellars until spring.

Sometimes flowers of plants are also eaten.
A powerful flow of nutrients enters the ripening flowers, and it would seem that inflorescences should be one of the products Agriculture- however, apart from unripe cauliflower inflorescences in Russia, no flowers are used for food.

Wood - building material
The main purpose of wood in a plant is to serve as a support. For this purpose, wood is also used by people.
Lignin-impregnated xylem cells are as strong as steel. The combination of tubes and fibers in wood makes it a strong, lightweight, resilient material. Hundreds of types of wood are used in the world, differing in specific weight, ability to transmit heat.
Unfortunately, a significant part of the trees cut down on all continents are burned in stoves, heating a home or warming food.

Paper - cell wall material
Cellulose fibers are used to make paper, cardboard, fibreboard. These fibers in the old days were obtained only from dilapidated fabrics, and now - mainly from trees. In principle, paper can be made from any plant by separating cellulose from other substances and bleaching it. But the best raw materials for this are the long tracheids of conifers.

Bast - a source of fibers
Many plants contain long thin cells - supporting (bast) fibers. With the help of bacteria, people release these fibers from other cells and spin threads from them. In Russia, the main source of such fibers is flax; earlier threads were also made from hemp and nettle.

Cork fabric - valuable technical material
In the bark of many trees there is cork tissue - a loose tissue of cells with walls impregnated with a water-repellent substance.
An inhabitant of the subtropical zone, the cork oak, grows layers of cork tissue several centimeters thick. Such a layer of cork saves the tree from a fire, since the cork does not burn and does not conduct heat well. This fabric can be cut without harm to the tree. Cork is used to make bottle caps and facing tiles - light, resilient, impervious to water and air.

Substances with which plants lure pollinators or repel enemies are used by people as spices or medicines.
Many plants contain substances that are poisonous to insects or fungi - bitter, with a strong odor or tasteless. The flowers of many insect pollinating plants contain aromatic substances that attract pollinators. The value of these substances for a person is greater than food. From these substances, people make medicines, perfumes and insecticides (substances that destroy insects in the fields and in dwellings).

Nectar and honey
Humans cannot collect the nectar of flowers, but bees do the job. They not only collect nectar, but also thicken it and subject it to special processing, as a result of which an extraordinary useful product- honey.

There are five main areas where plants are used directly or indirectly:

As human food and animal feed,

As a source of raw materials for industry and economic activity,

How medicines and raw materials for the production of medicines,

In decorative gardening and

In protection and improvement environment.

The nutritional value of plants is well known. As human food and animal feed, as a rule, parts containing reserve nutrients or the substances themselves extracted in one way or another are used. The need for carbohydrates is mainly satisfied by starch- and sugar-containing plants. The role of sources of vegetable protein in the diet of humans and animals is performed mainly by some plants from the legume family. The fruits and seeds of many species are used to produce vegetable oils. Most vitamins and minerals also come with fresh plant foods. A significant role in human nutrition is played by spices and plants containing caffeine - tea and coffee.

The technical use of plants and their products is carried out in several main areas. The most widely used wood and fibrous parts of plants. Wood is used in the manufacture of building and other structures, furniture, as well as in the production of paper. Dry distillation of wood makes it possible to obtain a significant amount of important organic substances widely used in industry and in everyday life. In many countries, wood is one of the main types of fuel.

Despite the widespread use of synthetic fibers, plant fibers derived from cotton (morphologically, these are trichomes), flax, hemp and jute have retained great importance in the production of many fabrics.

Plants have been used for medicinal purposes for a very long time. V traditional medicine they make up the bulk of drugs. V scientific medicine countries former USSR about a third of drugs used for treatment are obtained from plants. It is believed that with medicinal purposes the peoples of the world use at least 21,000 plant species (including mushrooms).

At least 1,000 plant species are cultivated for ornamental purposes, either for their beautiful flowers or for their showy greenery.

The existence and normal functioning of all ecological systems of the biosphere, of which man is also a part, is entirely determined by plants.

Plants already used by man or which may be used by man in the future constitute plant resources. Plant resources are categorized as renewable (when properly exploited) as opposed to, for example, non-renewable mineral resources. Most often, plant resources are divided into natural flora resources (this includes all wild species) and resources of cultivated plants. In terms of volume and significance in the life of mankind, they differ significantly.

The natural resources of flora are limited and, according to experts, in their initial volume they could provide food for only about 10 million people. Optimization (optimization is an increase in the productivity of natural populations with the help of biotechnical measures (fertilization, clearing, clarification, etc.). This part of plant resources is possible within a relatively limited range. The most widely wild plants are used as sources of technical raw materials, in economic human activities, as well as medicines.

The introduction of plants into culture and the formation of additional plant resources in this way is associated with the formation of ancient human civilizations. The existence of these civilizations could only be ensured by a certain "range" of cultivated plants, giving required amount vegetable proteins, fats and carbohydrates. A life modern man and modern civilization are impossible without the widest possible use of cultivated plants. Almost all cultivated plants, the number of which now reaches about 1500 species, are angiosperms. By the middle of the XX century. cultivated plants occupied 1.5 billion hectares, i.e., about 10% of the entire land surface of the globe.

Increasing the resources of cultivated plants is possible within a very wide range, both by increasing the area of ​​their cultivation, and by improving agricultural technology and breeding highly productive varieties. It is believed that the full mobilization of renewable resources, including plant resources, can ensure the existence of at least 6 billion people on Earth.

Life, which originated on our planet about 4 billion years ago and is a unique natural phenomenon, has gone through a long path of development, which resulted in the emergence of amazingly complex living systems - organisms. During this period, the appearance of the Earth changed repeatedly, the composition of the atmosphere changed, oceans and entire continents arose and disappeared. Numerous and once prosperous groups of plants and animals came to replace each other, giving way to more and more complex and perfect living organisms in the face of increasing competition and an ever-changing climate. The natural stage of this grandiose process was the appearance of thinking beings, whose mind allowed them not only to realize the phenomenon of life in all its manifestations, but also to recreate in general terms the history of its development and classify the forms of life in all their amazing diversity. One can only guess in what ways life will develop and improve in the future, but it is already clear that human activity to a very large extent negatively affects its development. One of major tasks biology, and in particular botany, is to show not only the material, but also the spiritual dependence of mankind on the biosphere, which, figuratively speaking, is the cradle of our civilization. The complexity and endless diversity of the living world around us, the unsurpassed beauty of the universe form the vital spiritual side of our consciousness.

People have been using plants since time immemorial. At first, they only collected parts of plants in wild nature, and then, when they became settled, they also began to cultivate them, and thus agriculture appeared.

Different areas of application of plants

Plants play an extremely important role in human life. V different parts planets, regardless of each other, people have learned to cultivate plants and use them to meet their needs. According to the scope of application, plants can be divided into several main groups, such as edible, collected for building materials, paints, threads, for use in medicine, etc.
The most widely cultivated are the plants that are taken as food. They form the basis of the human diet. Common agricultural plants include species such as:

• Wheat;
• Corn;
• Potato;
• Cotton;
• Mango.

These and many other plants are cultivated in different regions of the planet and make up a large percentage of imports for those countries in whose territories they can grow. Various parts of plants are eaten, such as fruits, roots, leaves, seeds, etc.

The use of plants in medicine

A separate topic is the use of plant parts for medical purposes. People have known about the health benefits of certain species for many years. For example, in Chinese medicine, a huge number of plants are used to treat a variety of diagnoses. Interestingly, some of them are considered poisonous and can be consumed in very limited quantities: only in this case they are curative.

Lot medicinal plants grows in middle lane Russia. These include, for example, the famous plantain, which stops bleeding, helps with minor wounds and injuries. Also used for recreational purposes are plants such as raspberry, lime blossom, pharmacy chamomile, wild rose and many others. However, they should be taken with caution on their own, as they often cause allergic reactions.

Since ancient times, man has mastered agriculture and cattle breeding as the main types of economic activity. All the products that he received as a result of his labor were used for tailoring, making household items and cooking.

Nature from the very beginning takes care of us and provides everything we need. Man, over time, learned to use its gifts so widely that today there is probably not a single representative of the flora who would not be involved in any area of ​​\u200b\u200bhuman economic activity.

What plants play the largest and most significant role in human life? Let's try to understand this issue by describing the most common areas of application of herbal products.

Areas of plant use by humans

Of the 340 thousand species known to date, about 200 representatives of the flora have been cultivated by humans. A significant part is collected in wild habitats. For example, medicinal herbs.

In total, there are several main areas in which they find application useful plants for a person:

• medicine (both traditional and alternative);
• food industry (including confectionery);
• textile production;
• tailoring;
• chemical production (obtaining dyes, various raw materials);
• decorative purposes ( houseplants, arrangement and design of premises, streets of the city);
• landscape design;
• use as a source of oxygen (in space, for example);
• plantings in the stripes of the city to improve the ecological state of the environment.

Thus, it turns out that the most significant areas of activity for the normal quality of life and the preservation of human health are provided with a plant-based raw material component. This makes it possible to argue that it is difficult to overestimate the role of flora for people.

Useful plants for humans

There are a lot of them. For each area of ​​use. For example, in chemical industry plants are used from which natural dyes are obtained. In the same area of ​​\u200b\u200buse is hevea - a tree whose milky juice is natural rubber. Beneficial features Plants have been known to man since ancient times and are widely used.

The food industry knows no boundaries at all in the use of plant products: from different varieties wheat, barley, rye and other grains and ending with cultivated fruits and root crops. After all, everything that grows in our gardens is used for food. A person receives valuable proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, micro- and macroelements from plants: rice, buckwheat, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, ocean algae, etc., etc.

Plants play an important aesthetic role in human life. indoor views widespread and numerous. In addition to beauty, they carry the ability to purify and renew the air in the room, absorb and destroy harmful radiation and electromagnetic effects, eliminate negative energy and clean the air from pathogenic microbes. These plants include:

• cacti;
• saintpaulia;
• pelargoniums;
• begonias;
• different types of ferns;
• spurge and other succulents and so on.

The role of some representatives of the flora in the textile industry is very significant. You know who "dress" a person and give him towels, linens, scarves and other products of this industry? The main ones grown on a large scale are cotton and flax. Consider these and some other types in more detail.

What plants are fabrics made from?

There are several representatives of the flora, the stems and leaves of which contain special ones. They are used to make fabrics. What are these plants that "dress" a person? These include:

• Different types of flax.
• Hemp.
• Kenaf.
• Abacus.
• Yucca.
• Agave.
• Cable car.
• Jute.
• Sidu.
• Sesbania.
• Rami.
• Kendyr.

Most of them belong to tropical species. Flax, sida, hemp and rope grow in temperate latitudes.

Cotton is also an important representative of the flora for fabric production. In its seeds, thin white hairs are formed that form whole downy balls. It is from them that the most common, valuable and excellent quality fiber of the future fabric is made.

Cotton plant in nature

Under natural conditions, this culture is very widespread in different forms. Man cultivated cotton more than 5 thousand years ago. And this is not surprising. After all, 40% of the fabrics produced in the world come from cotton.

The plant is a rather high (up to 200 cm) medium-sized shrub stalks, with a dissected beautiful leaf blade. The flower is small, inconspicuous color (yellow, white or cream). After flowering, it changes its colors to red, orange or purple. In its place, a fruit is formed - a box in which the seeds ripen.

One fruit is capable of producing about 50 seeds. At the same time, each seed forms up to 15 thousand thin hairs on itself, which are used to obtain tissue. The appearance of the ripe fruit is very interesting: the box opens, and white cotton balls are shown outside. At this time, the technical crop is harvested for processing into fabric.

life forms

Cotton is a heat-loving, moisture-loving and tender plant. No wonder sometimes it is called the "child of the sun." The following life forms are distinguished for him:

• woody;
• shrubby;
• herbaceous.

Each of them can be one-year, two-year or multi-year. To obtain tissues, a shrubby annual variety is grown. In taxonomy, it belongs to the Malvaceae family.

Application

Cotton production in the world is over 25 million tons annually. It is carried out in 80 countries. Its main area of ​​application, of course, is as a source of high-quality, excellent technical specifications fabrics.

Plants that "dress" a person, of course, include cotton in their list. Everyone knows the excellent quality of cotton clothing, especially when the material is combined with other additives that improve wear and prevent severe wrinkling.

As cotton has been cultivated for a very long time. Previously, only very rich people could afford to wear clothes made from this material. Today it is not at all but essentials. Cotton fabrics are durable, beautiful, easy to dye, soft and pleasant to the body, wear-resistant.

For technical purposes

Cotton is also used as a basis for obtaining:

• artificial fibers;
• pyroxylin;
• celluloid;
• varnishes;
• dynamite;
• smokeless powder and so on.

Linen in nature

The best plants that "dress" a person include flax in their list. Under natural conditions, there are approximately 330 species of this representative of the flora. The most common is ordinary flax. It is he who is used to obtain fibers.

The culture is a herbaceous form up to 1 meter in height. The stems are strong, but thin, the leaves are lanceolate, the flower is not large, but of medium size, the color of the corolla is pale blue, almost lilac. In the wild, there are species with bright yellow, white flowers. Flax is a plant (the photo can be seen below), which is quite often found in nature in temperate latitudes.

The main value of flax is presented in its stem. It is in it that bast fibers ripen, allocated by a person for his own needs. The collection of these stems is made only after they are fully ripe, that is, yellowing.

The plant itself is very unpretentious. calmly endures low temperatures and lack of moisture, is not attacked by pests due to the rather toxic substance contained in the stem and leaves. This makes growing flax very convenient for people.

Application

A person uses not only the stem of this species, but also other parts.

• Received from flax linseed oil(medicine, cosmetology, technical purposes).
• Extracts from the plant are used in medicine.
• Specialized medical threads (cotton wool, bandages) are made from flax.
• Fabrics from this plant can be thin and lacy, or they can be extremely durable and coarse (burlap, ship canvas).

In addition, flax is a plant (the photo clearly demonstrates this) is very tender, therefore, from an aesthetic point of view, it is also very suitable for growing.

At present, mankind continues to widely use plants for their needs. At the same time, the natural vegetation cover is gradually changing. Forest areas are decreasing, treeless spaces are increasing, some plants that were once widespread on Earth are disappearing and not being restored. Although this process of destruction of the original natural vegetation is gradually progressing, nevertheless, there are still many plant species that continue to be of great economic importance for human life.

as medicines;
for decorative purposes;

The nutritional value of plants is well known. As human food and animal feed, as a rule, parts containing reserve nutrients or the substances themselves extracted in one way or another are used. The need for carbohydrates is mainly satisfied by starch- and sugar-containing plants. The role of sources of vegetable protein in the diet of humans and animals is performed mainly by some plants from the legume family. The fruits and seeds of many species are used to produce vegetable oils. A significant role in human nutrition is played by spices and plants containing caffeine - tea and coffee.

Tea plantation. Photo: Jakub Michankow

The technical use of plants and their products is carried out in several main areas. The most widely used wood and fibrous parts of plants. Wood is used in the manufacture of building and other structures, furniture, as well as in the production of paper. Dry distillation of wood makes it possible to obtain a significant amount of important organic substances widely used in industry and in everyday life. In many countries, wood is one of the main types of fuel.

In world trade, a variety of painted woods are in great demand for furniture and decorative plywood. This is a mahogany, such as mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), which is harvested in South America; green Tree(Ocotea roiaci), also found in South America; ebony(species of the genus Diospyros), supplied by the countries of Africa and East Asia; teak tree (Tectona grandis) - an inhabitant of the tropical forests of East Asia, etc.

Despite the widespread use of synthetic fibers, plant fibers derived from cotton (morphologically, these are trichomes), flax, hemp and jute have retained great importance in the production of many fabrics.

Many wild plants serve as a source of various fragrant substances, which are used as raw materials in the production of soap, perfumes, as well as products used in Food Industry and medicine. The most valuable of them (except for cultivated pink geranium, Kazanlak rose, clary sage, lemongrass, etc.) numerous species of the families Umbelliferae, Lamiaceae, Compositae (wormwood), etc., growing in different parts of the Earth.

Plants have been used for medicinal purposes for a very long time. In folk medicine, they make up the bulk of medicines. In the scientific medicine of the countries of the former USSR, about a third of the drugs used for treatment are obtained from plants. It is believed that at least 21,000 plant species (including mushrooms) are used by the peoples of the world for medicinal purposes.

At least 1,000 plant species are cultivated for ornamental purposes, either for their beautiful flowers or for their showy greenery.

The existence and normal functioning of all ecological systems of the biosphere, of which man is also a part, is entirely determined by plants.
Plants already used by man or which may be used by man in the future constitute plant resources. Plant resources are categorized as renewable (when properly exploited) as opposed to, for example, non-renewable mineral resources. Most often, plant resources are divided into resources of natural flora (this includes all wild species) and resources of cultivated plants. In terms of volume and significance in the life of mankind, they differ significantly.

The introduction of plants into culture and the formation of additional plant resources in this way is associated with the formation of ancient human civilizations. The existence of these civilizations could only be ensured by a certain "range" of cultivated plants that provide the necessary amount of vegetable proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The life of modern man and modern civilization are impossible without the widest use of cultivated plants. Almost all cultivated plants, the number of which now reaches about 1500 species, are angiosperms. By the middle of the XX century. cultivated plants occupied 1.5 billion hectares, i.e., about 10% of the entire land surface of the globe.

Today, a person has a unique opportunity not only to use plants already invented by nature, but also to invent and create something new. It's about about the genetic biotransformation of plants and the creation of transgenic plants with unique properties that are resistant to various factors.

What are transgenic plants used for? Of course, first of all, in order to preserve the harvest. Transgenic plants are generally resistant to either herbicides or insect pests. Up to 50% of all non-transgenic potatoes die from harmful insects, including colorado potato beetle. This is a significant blow to the economy and prices, so genetically modified soybeans, transgenic potatoes, transgenic corn are being introduced and used in the United States and other developing countries of the world. Transgenic plants resistant to herbicides carry a gene taken from one of the bacterial species. This gene encodes a toxin that is used to spray non-transgenic plants, so essentially nothing changes. That we externally spray non-transgenic plants, that we introduced this gene, and it acts from the inside.

In addition to transgenic plants resistant to herbicides and traditional pests, there are plants with improved properties: an increased content of vitamins, an increased content of amino acids, and an altered composition of fatty acids.
An example is rice with a high content of beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the human body. It is known that today in the developing world people do not get enough vitamin A. In extreme cases, this can lead to blindness. Therefore, the development of such organisms is relevant. Another example is the development of genetically modified carrots in which beta-carotene is increased. This carrot is already successfully sold in American stores today.

There are five main areas where a person directly or indirectly uses plants:

• as food;
• source of raw materials for industry;
• as medicines;
• for decorative purposes;
• to preserve and improve the environment. Let's consider each of them separately.

Let's start with food. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats are the three main groups of substances that a person needs to build his body and ensure its vital functions. Throughout life, a person processes a huge amount of substances - more than 1000 times the weight of his body. Assimilated substances, he processes them inside his body, takes energy from them and then partially releases them again, but in an altered form.

The total need for food products is directly or indirectly provided by plants: directly by eating the plants themselves or plant products, and indirectly through animals, which ultimately also feed on plants. The ratio of plant and animal food in human nutrition is very different and depends both on its capabilities and on established traditions.

The first conscious relation of man to plants appeared, no doubt, in the fact that he began to collect them in order to eat. Fruits and seeds, tubers and roots, young shoots and even whole plants made up an essential part of the diet of the first people. At the same time, it was necessary to distinguish edible plants from inedible and poisonous. So very quickly a direct and close relationship between people and plants was established, which grew stronger as knowledge about different types plants, as well as with the invention of methods for producing fire and the associated processing of harvested plants and the improvement of their nutritional qualities.

When and where man came to the conscious cultivation of plants has not been clarified, nor can it ever be clarified. It is firmly established only that he has been purposefully cultivating plants for a very long time.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CELLS. Study the chemical composition of the cell. - presentation

The most ancient traces of this date back 10,000 years, that is, they date back to those distant times when people in some territories switched to a settled way of life.

The most important modern cultivated plants are starchy, and among them, first of all, representatives of the cereal family: wheat, rice, corn, barley, oats and rye. In terms of human use, wheat is undoubtedly in the first place. Rice is slightly inferior to wheat.

The third very widespread grain crop is corn, which is mostly fed to livestock.

Starch-bearing plants, in addition to cereals, also include representatives of other families, among them potatoes are primarily among them.

The next important starchy plant is the banana. Powdery banana fruits are especially rich in starch. They are boiled, fried and baked, from which brown flour is obtained, which finds a wide variety of uses.

In addition to starch, sugar is one of the most important carbohydrates. But the number of sugar-bearing plants in comparison with starch-bearing plants is relatively small, and only two of them - sugar cane and sugar beets are of great importance.

Proteins, unlike carbohydrates, a person receives mainly from animal food. Of course, many food plants also contain proteins, but in fact, only the seeds of legumes are currently important as a source of vegetable proteins used by humans.

The situation is different with fats, since a significant part of them is given to humans by plants.

These are plants such as rapeseed, colza, poppy, sunflower and others. All these plants contain fats in fruits or seeds.

However, carbohydrates, proteins and fats of purely vegetable origin are only part of the basic human diet. Another, no less important part, a person receives from plants through animals.

A person receives from plants not only energy-rich substances, but also vitamins. Almost all fruit and vegetable plants can be classified as vitamin-bearing plants.

An essential role in our diet is played by spices and spices, all of which, with the exception of common salt, are of vegetable origin. The main part of flavoring substances spice plants belongs to a large group essential oils, which are formed by plants in special cells or are secreted into special receptacles located inside tissues, and later when they leave the plant body through glandular hairs or glandular cells. We are talking about easily evaporating, pleasant-smelling liquids, which are a mixture of alcohols, carbonic acids, esters and other substances. Taste also depends on organic acids, which play an important role in metabolism.

The valuable properties of cultivated plants of another group depend on secondary plant substances - plants containing stimulating substances. The most important of them are coffee, tea, cocoa and tobacco.

However, plants are used by man not only as food and aphrodisiacs; Plants and the products derived from them also play an important role in other areas. Everyday life person. Plants often use as a raw material or source material to obtain it. Wood, cotton, jute and other fibers, as well as cellulose, rubber, vegetable fats and oils, dyes and tannins obtained from plants, are still needed for many branches of the national economy. Wood has been used by man for a long time; it was the first fuel, and in a number of areas the first building material.

Flax is one of the most famous cultivated plants. To this day, it serves as the main raw material for the manufacture of fabrics, which are used, for example, for bed and table linen.

Hemp is the oldest fibrous plant. From its relatively thick and brittle fibers, at present, mainly ropes, canvas, thick threads, etc. are made. An even coarser fiber gives jute. Almost all jute goes to the production of burlap.

However, cotton, a fibrous plant, plays the most important role in the world economy.

Plant fibers consist of almost pure cellulose, and vegetable cellulose is the main raw material for the manufacture of very many products, of which it is enough to name only paper, cardboard, rayon, viscose, artificial wool, varnishes. The initial raw material for the production of cellulose is mainly wood, but sometimes cane and straw are used.

Another important plant product for industry is natural rubber, although these days it is no longer as important as it used to be.

Tannins, which are part of some plants, are bitter in taste and are widely used in the food industry, since, along with other substances, they determine the taste of many fruits, stimulants and food products.

Tannins are found in lingonberries and blueberries; they give them an astringent taste. Tannins are found in the leaves of the tea bush; rich in them and seeds coffee tree. There are especially many of these substances in the bark and heartwood of some trees. The presence of tannic acids often protect these tissues from damage by microorganisms, making them more resistant.

Many other plant substances also find economic use. True, as a result of the development of chemistry, the importance of some of them has decreased, while others are no longer used at all, such as, for example, many dyes of plant origin.

Like medicines plants still play an important role. Information about the healing effect of plants was preserved in different peoples many centuries. Now we know the substances contained in many plants, and we know what effect they have on the human body. But in folk medicine there are also many false, mystical and superstitious ideas. To some extent, this attitude has continued to this day.

However, plants are not only used for nutrition, for economic and medical purposes, they, in addition, decorate our lives and improve the human environment natural environment , being its constant component.

In the daily life of people, flowers have always played and play a big role. As a sign of attention to a friend and comrade, as a gift to a beloved woman, as last bow deceased - flowers are never forgotten. They give comfort to our homes and workplaces, they decorate parks and gardens. Their role in our lives is evidenced by thousands of species and varieties of ornamental plants. Beautiful not only ornamental plants. Even microscopically small plants cannot but attract attention with a peculiar form.

The plant world is undoubtedly the main component of the biosphere, which, in fact, arose only when plant organisms appeared capable of transforming solar energy and carry out the synthesis of bioorganic matter on Earth. Since then, the overall balance of matter and energy has been closely dependent on the state of the vegetation cover of individual regions and the planet as a whole.

Main article: Flowering plants

The value of flowering plants in nature

Flowering plants, along with other plants, are the main producers of organic matter. Plants, and primarily flowering plants, provide food for all living organisms on the planet. In addition, they are suppliers of oxygen, which is necessary for most organisms to breathe. Flowering plants are an integral part of landscapes and form the face of our planet.

The value of flowering plants in human life

Flowering plants play an essential role in human life, as they provide food and pet food.

cultivated plants

see Cultivated plants

Plants and industry

In addition to cultivated plants, man uses many wild plants for food as animal feed and for other purposes.

Plants are the raw material for various industries industry: woodworking, pharmaceutical, food. They are used to build houses and other structures, in shipbuilding.

From cellulose, which is part of the membranes of plant cells, paper, cardboard, and fiberboards are made.

In the bark of many trees there is cork tissue, consisting of dead cells, usually filled with air.

Human use of plants

Such fabric reliably protects plants from unfavorable conditions. It does not conduct heat well and does not let water through, because the cell membranes of this tissue are impregnated with a special water-repellent substance. Such tissue in some trees can be cut without harm to the plant. Cork oak bark, for example, is used to make bottle caps and light, resilient, water- and air-impervious facing boards. Material from the site http://wiki-med.com

Plants and medicine

Many plants contain poisonous, strong-smelling, or medicinal substances. These substances are used for the production of medicines, perfumes. Flowers, leaves, stems or fruits of some plants are used as spice and aromatic additives to food dishes.

Plants for decoration

Beautiful flowering plants are used to decorate parks, squares, garden plots. Indoor plants play an important role in landscaping living and working premises, recreations. Nature makes people's lives more harmonious. It is a source of inspiration and creativity for a person.

Material from the site http://Wiki-Med.com

On this page, material on the topics:

• distribution of flowering

• the importance of flowering plants and their protection

• the role of angiosperms in human life and its economic activity

• How are flowering plants used by humans?

• report on the use of angiosperms in human life

Where does a person use various substances of plant cells

§one. Life Science

1) Insert missing words.

Answer: 1) Biology is the science that studies living organisms, their structure, development e, manifold and vital activity.

2) Botany studies plants, zoology - animals, mycology - mushrooms.

2) Write what the Greek words mean:

Answer: bios a life

"logos" doctrine

3) Complete the diagram that reflects human use of plants.

4) Fill the table.

5) Insert the missing letters into the words.

• 1- Sob and ratel
• 2- Many O cage O chic
• 3- Org a nism
• 4- Bi O logic

6) Make up two sentences with the words from task 5.

Answer: Biology studies unicellular and multicellular organisms. Ancient people were engaged in gathering.

Task 1. Insert the missing words.
1. Biology is a science that studies living organisms, their structure, diversity, development and vital activity.
2. Botany studies plants, zoology studies animals, mycology studies fungi.

Task 2. Write what the Greek words mean:
"bios" - life
"logos" - doctrine

Task 3. Fill in the diagram that reflects the use of plants by humans.

Plants: cultivated, ornamental, wild, fodder, poisonous, medicinal.

Task 4. Fill in the table.

Task 5. Insert the missing letters into the words.
1. Collector
2. Multicellular
3.

organism
4. Biology

Task 6. Make two sentences with the words listed in task 5.
Biology studies unicellular and multicellular organisms.
Ancient people were engaged in gathering.

Answer left Guru

At present, mankind continues to widely use plants for

your needs.

At the same time, the natural vegetation cover is gradually changing.

Forest areas are decreasing, treeless spaces are increasing, disappearing and not

some plants that were once widespread on Earth are being restored.

Although this process of destruction of the original natural vegetation gradually

progresses, however, there are still many plant species that continue to

maintain great economic importance for people's lives.

There are five main areas where a person directly or indirectly uses

plants:
as food;
source of raw materials for industry;
as medicines;
for decorative purposes;
to preserve and improve the environment.

The nutritional value of plants is well known. As human food

and animal feed are generally used parts containing spare parts

nutrients or the substances themselves extracted in one way or another.

The need for carbohydrates is mainly satisfied by starch and

humans and animals are mainly performed by some plants from the family

legumes. The fruits and seeds of many species are used to produce vegetable

oils. spices and plants that contain

caffeine, - tea and coffee.