A fibrous root system (sometimes also called adventitious root system) is the opposite of a taproot system. It is usually formed by thin, moderately branching roots growing from the stem. A fibrous root system is universal in monocotyledonous plants and ferns.
Most trees begin life with a taproot, but after one to a few years change to a wide-spreading fibrous root system with mainly horizontal surface roots and only a few vertical, deep anchoring roots. A typical mature tree 30-50 m tall has a root system that extends horizontally in all directions as far as the tree is tall or more, but well over 95% of the roots are in the top 50 cm depth of soil.
A few plants with fibrous root systems:
- Coconut palm
- Gabrielle
- Pteridophyta
- White clover (Trifolium repens)
- Marigold
Famous quotes containing the words fibrous root, fibrous, root and/or system:
“She saw the couches of the dead, and where the fibrous root
Of every heart on earth infixes deep its restless twists:”
—William Blake (1757–1827)
“She saw the couches of the dead, and where the fibrous root
Of every heart on earth infixes deep its restless twists:”
—William Blake (1757–1827)
“Better extirpate the whole breed, root and branch. And this, unless the German people come to their senses, is what we propose to do.”
—Gertrude Atherton (1857–1948)
“Human beings are compelled to live within a lie, but they can be compelled to do so only because they are in fact capable of living in this way. Therefore not only does the system alienate humanity, but at the same time alienated humanity supports this system as its own involuntary masterplan, as a degenerate image of its own degeneration, as a record of people’s own failure as individuals.”
—Václav Havel (b. 1936)