![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Root_Systems.svg/640px-Root_Systems.svg.png&w=640&q=50)
Taproot
Dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the plant root system. For other uses, see Taproot (disambiguation).
A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward.[1] In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproot is a storage organ so well developed that it has been cultivated as a vegetable.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Root_Systems.svg/320px-Root_Systems.svg.png)
The taproot system contrasts with the adventitious- or fibrous-root system of plants with many branched roots, but many plants that grow a taproot during germination go on to develop branching root structures, although some that rely on the main root for storage may retain the dominant taproot for centuries—for example, Welwitschia.