#monocots

The reason for flowers is reproduction. Three major parts of a flower function to achieve this purpose. First, the gynoecium sits at the center. This is the ovule-producing portion. It’s where seeds are born. Its stigmas accept pollen produced by the second major flower part, the androecium. This part is made up of a whorl of stamens that generally surround the gynoecium, except when the…

Lelietje-van-dalen of meiklokje (Convallaria majalis). 14-05-2021

Hello plant people! Here's a brief explanation of how monocots and dicots differ:

Where do the names come from?

You may be wondering how these taxon were named. Mono- and Di- are self explanatory -- one and two. But what about the -cot part? Well, the full names are Monocotyledons and Dicotyledons. A cotyledon is the embryonic leaf of the plant. Despite getting their names from this feature, it is not the most reliable way to characterize these since cotyledons are only present for a very short time in a plant's life. Here is a good picture of monocot vs dicot cotyledons:

By w:User:Pengo - Peter Halasz https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=837422

Now, what are some other ways to differentiate the two?

Plant Life-Form -- Herbaceous vs Arboraceous (Woody)

Monocots are typically herbaceous, but can be arboraceous.

Dicots are commonly either herbaceous or arboraceous.

Pollen

Monocot pollen has only one furrow. AKA monocolpate:

Kleopatra -- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Kleopatra

Dicot pollen has three furrows. AKA tricolpate:

Marie Majaura

Flower

Monocots have trimerous flowers, meaning their flower structures (petals, septals, stamens, etc.) are in multiples of 3.

Dicots have tetramerous, flower structures in multiples of 4 or pentamerous, flower structures in multiples of 5.

Stem

Monocots have a hollow stem with scattered vascular bundles. They lack vascular cambium, which is the tissue that produces secondary growth, resulting in woody flesh.

Dicots have a non-hollow stem with a uniform ring of vascular bundles. They contain vascular cambium.

Leaf

Monocots have narrow, parallel-veined leaves with a sheathing base:

Dicots have broad leaves with a network of veins:

Root

Monocot roots are adventitious, meaning they develop wherever they can -- often in strange places. It's very cool! Here's a picture example:

Monocot roots briefly have a primary root, and then end up forming fibrous or fleshy root systems:

https://allen.in/neet/biology/fibrous-root

Dicots keep their primary root, which grows into a strong taproot. This taproot can grow small fibrous roots:

Taproots are often what we would call a vegetable!

https://www.britannica.com/topic/root-vegetable

Examples

Monocots:

Araceae "Arum"

Alismataceae "Water Plantain"

Liliaceae "Lily"

Ruscaceae "Butcher's Broom"

Orchidaceae "Orchid"

Dicots:

Fabaceae -- Beans

https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/South_African_Plant_Families/key/South%20African%20Plant%20Families/Media/Html/Fabaceae.htm

Rubiaceae -- Coffee family!!!

Rosaceae -- Roses, Strawberries, Apples...

Geraniaceae -- Geranium family

By Alvesgaspar - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3565509

Asteraceae -- Sunflowers, Artichokes, Marigolds...

By Alvesgaspar, Tony Wills (10) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3562701

References

Grass (slang) vs Grass (literal)

Eudicots (“true dicots”): This is a ginormous class, containing almost all leafy trees, quite a lot of plants that humans get food from (including potatoes and all of the legumes), and the plants we get tea, coffee, and chocolate from. It also contains carnivorous plants, parasitic plants, and some very poisonous plants, as well as tobacco and cannabis.