Editing Taproot (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Dandelion Blackwell 0136.jpg|thumb|A [[dandelion]] taproot (left) with the rest of the plant (right)]]
[[Dicot]]s, one of the two divisions of [[flowering plant]]s (angiosperms), start with a taproot,<ref name="Mauseth2009">{{cite book|author=James D. Mauseth|author-link=James D. Mauseth|title=Botany: an introduction to plant biology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xPLGdYW9t5kC&pg=PA145|access-date=28 September 2010|year=2009|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|isbn=978-0-7637-5345-0|pages=145–}}</ref> which is one main root forming from the enlarging [[radicle]] of the seed. The tap root can be persistent throughout the life of the plant but is most often replaced later in the plant's development by a fibrous root system.<ref name="Mauseth2009"/><ref name="BergBerg2007">{{cite book|author1=Linda Berg|author2=Linda R. Berg|title=Introductory Botany: Plants, People, and the Environment|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I71WWH9ZmfsC&pg=PA112|access-date=28 September 2010|date=23 March 2007|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-534-46669-5|pages=112–}}</ref> A persistent taproot system forms when the radicle keeps growing and smaller lateral roots form along the taproot.
The shape of taproots can vary but the typical shapes include:
*Conical root: this type of root tuber is conical in shape, i.e. widest at the top and tapering steadily towards the bottom: e.g. [[carrot]].
*Fusiform root: this root is widest in the middle and tapers towards the top and the bottom: e.g. [[radish]].
*Napiform root: the root has a [[Spinning top|top]]-like appearance. It is very broad at the top and tapers suddenly like a tail at the bottom: e.g. [[turnip]].

[[File:Karotoj.jpg|thumb|The edible, orange part of the carrot is its taproot]]
Many taproots are modified into [[storage organ]]s.
Some plants with taproots:
*[[Beetroot]]
*[[Burdock]]
*[[Carrot]]
*[[Sugar beet]]
*[[Dandelion]]
*[[Parsley]]
*[[Parsnip]]
*[[Poppy mallow]]
*[[Radish]]
*[[Sagebrush]]
*[[Turnip]]
*[[Asclepias syriaca|Common milkweed]]
* trees such as [[oak]]s, [[elm]]s, [[pine]]s and [[fir]]s