Nepedia
Back to Discover
Fluent Reader
🧬

Rosales

life science Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Rosales is a large group of flowering plants. It includes about 7,700 different species. These plants belong to nine different families. There are about 260 genera in this group.

You can find these plants in many places. They grow in the mountains and the tropics. They even grow in the arctic. Different families live in different parts of the world.

Many of these plants have a special way to make seeds. This is called wind-pollination. Most families in Rosales use the wind for this task. This includes the elm family and the nettle family. The mulberry family also uses the wind. This helps the plants spread and grow new life.

Scientists have studied how these plants are related. They use DNA sequences to understand their history. This is part of a system called the APG III. This system shows nine families in the order. These are Cannabaceae, Dirachmaceae, Elaeagnaceae, Moraceae, Rhamnaceae, Rosaceae, Ulmaceae, Urticaceae, and more. Older systems like the Cronquist system were different. They did not group these families the same way.

Some families in Rosales are very important for food. The rose family is called Rosaceae. It has 91 species out of 4,828 in its group. This family includes apples, pears, and plums. You can also find peaches, cherries, and apricots here. Strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries are also in this family. Many people grow these for fruit.

The Moraceae family is also very important. It produces figs, mulberries, and breadfruit.

These plants do many other jobs for people. Mulberry leaves provide food for silkworms. These worms are used to make silk. Some cherry wood is used to make fine furniture. The cannabis plant has been used for many years. People use it for hemp or as a drug. Some fig trees have an enzyme called ficin. This enzyme can kill roundworms in animals.

308 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.