a. [T]he reins of their (Moors) horses were as fire, their faces black as pitch, their eyes shone like burning candles, their horses were swift as leopards and the riders fiercer than a wolf in a sheepfold at night . . .
Appearance. A taproot has a main root, similar in appearance to a carrot, which is also a taproot. In most cases, smaller, auxiliary roots grow laterally all along the main taproot. A fibrous root system is a mass of small roots, with an appearance of a mass of fibers. It can resemble a bird's nest or a ball of yarn. The roots are typically only a few inches long and branch frequently, similar to the canopy of a tree.
A fibrous root system consists of many roots, none of which is the radicle, instead all the main roots are adventitious roots that originate in the stem tissue. fibrous root systems do not penetrate as deeply into the soil as taproots do, and they are made up of a large number of roots that are all similar in size. Tap root systems are composed of one primary root which is thick and penetrates deeply, while other smaller roots grow off of this primary root.