Submitted by: Asad Ali

Topic: Monocots & Dicots

Course: Introductory Horticulter

Course Code: HORT 302

Credit Hours: 3(2+1)

Teacher: Sir Sajid Ali Shah

Registration NO: Agri 2023DMJ06

 Monocots vs. Dicots: 26 Differences, Examples

Monocots Definition
Monocotyledons, also referred to as monocots, are flowering plants bearing seeds with a single
cotyledon or embryonic leaf.
 There are about 60,000 species of monocotyledonous plants found worldwide where the family
Orchidaceae consisting of orchids forms the largest group in both monocots and in angiosperms with
about 20,000 species.
 The second most abundant monocotyledons include grasses in the family Poaceae which are the most
economically important of them all.
 Monocotyledon plants form the largest biomass within agriculture including most grains like wheat, rice,
barley, along with forage grasses, sugarcane, and bamboos.
 All monocots share a common evolutionary history, making them a monophyletic group.
 The most common characteristic associated with monocotyledons is the presence of a single cotyledon
in the embryo of the seed with parallel-veined leaves.
 The leaves are more slender where they are sheathed at the base without any petiole. The veins move in
a parallel pattern but are smaller in size with even smaller veins connecting them.
 Besides, they have scattered vascular bundles in the stem with an adventitious root system with no
cambium.
 The lack of lateral meristem or cambium limits the growth of stems in diameter with height. As a result,
most monocotyledons are herbaceous plants with some arboraceous plants like agaves, palms, and
bamboos.
 Typically, monocots have an epidermis with a thick cuticle, but they lack epidermal hairs. The cells in
the epidermis or the hypodermis are not arranged in concentric circles
 The flowers are also different from dicots in that the parts of the flowers usually occur in the set of three.
 Commonly, the number of petals and sepals is either three of multiple of three, whereas the pistil and
stamen can be numerous. There are six stamens that represent two whorls of three.
 Sometimes, there might be a single ovary with two carpels instead of three.
 The pollen grains in monocots characteristically have a single furrow or aperture in contrast to other
angiosperms.
 The resulting embryo has a single embryonic leaf almost always with an endosperm.
 The most common and economically important monocots include plants like bananas, gingers, turmeric,
cardamom, asparagus, along with some household plants like epiphytes and decorative flowers like lilies
and tulips.

Dicots Definition
Dicotyledons, also referred to as dicots, are flowering plants bearing seeds with two cotyledons or
embryonic leaves.
 It is the largest group within angiosperms consisting of about 200,000 species of flowering plants.
 Unlike monocots, dicots are not a group of plants arising from a single ancestor; rather, they are assumed
to have evolved from different lineages. Thus dicots are paraphyletic.
 The types of plants in dicots range from garden plants, shrubs, and herbs to broadleaf plants like roses
and geraniums.
 Some economically important plants like peas, beans, roses, daisies, and oak trees are dicots.
 The most important characteristic in all dicots is the presence of two embryonic seed leaves or cotyledons
along with reticulate veined leaves.
 The leaves in dicots are broader than long and have net-like reticulate venation. The veins form a finely
branched network through the leaf blade with finer veins in between the major ones.
 Dicots are capable of secondary growth due to the presence of the lateral meristem or cambium. The
cambium goes on to produce new cells in concentric circles, increasing the girth of the plant.
 The stem in dicots is composed of multicellular epidermal hairs all over the epidermis with vascular
tissues arranged in concentric circles.
 The vascular bundles are arranged in the order of four or eight primarily arranged towards the perimeter
of the stem.
 Dicots have a tap root system with a long deep primary root growing into finer secondary roots.
 The flowers in dicots are tetramerous or pentamerous in that the parts occur in the set of four or five.
 Typically, the number of petals and sepals is either four or five or their multiples, whereas the pistil and
stamen can be numerous.
 The pollen grains are tricolpate, meaning they have three ridges or furrows that go through the outer layer.
 The number of seeds in dicots will also be more than that in monocots where the endosperm may or may
not be present.
 In the absence of endosperm, the two cotyledons provide the necessary nutrients to the seed.

Key Differences (Monocotyledons vs Dicotyledons)

Basis for
Monocotyledons (Monocots) Dicotyledons (Dicots)
Comparison

Monocotyledons are flowering Dicotyledons are flowering

plants or angiosperms bearing plants or angiosperms bearing
Definition
seeds with a single cotyledon or seeds with two cotyledons or
embryonic leaf. embryonic leaves.

Monocotyledonous plants are also Dicotyledonous plants are also

Also called
referred to as monocots. referred to as dicots.

Monocotyledon is a smaller group Dicotyledon is a larger group of

Species of flowering plants with 60,000 flowering plants with about
species of plants. 200,000 species of plants.

Most dicots have a tap root

Monocots have an adventitious or system. However, some dicots
Root
fibrous root system. have an adventitious root
system.

In monocots, the root has about 8- In dicots, the root has about 2-4
Vascular bundles
10 vascular bundles. vascular bundles.

The stem in most monocots is

The stems in dicots are either
herbaceous. But, some plants have
herbaceous or arboraceous.
arboraceous stems.
Stem

The Monocot stem is unbranched Dicot stem is branched and

and fleshy. hard.
 Within the stem of monocots, the Within the stem of dicots, the
vascular bundles are scattered in vascular bundles are arranged
no particular pattern. in concentric circles.

A lateral meristem or cambium

Most monocot stems lack a lateral
is present in the stems of dicot
meristem or cambium.
plants.

Cambium, if present, is not The cambium is differentiated

differentiated into cortex or stellar into the cortex and stellar
regions. regions.

Epidermal hairs are absent. Epidermal hairs are present.

Monocots do not undergo Secondary growth occurs in

Secondary
secondary growth due to the dicots as the cambium is
growth
absence of cambium. present.

The leaf in monocots is isobilateral The leaf in dicots is

in symmetry. dorsoventrally flattened.

Dicots usually have broad

Monocots usually have long, leaves, but the shape and size of
Leaf narrow, and slender leaves. the leaves vary according to the
species.

Dicot leaves have stomata only

Monocot leaves have stomata on
on one of the surfaces of the
both upper and lower surfaces and
leaf and thus, are termed
thus are termed amphistomatous.
epistomatous.

The leaves have a parallel venation The leaves have a reticulate

Venation
system. venation system.

Dicot flowers are usually

Monocot flowers are usually
Flowers tetramerous or pentamerous,
trimerous, meaning the number of
meaning the number of the
 parts of the flowers is either three flower parts is either five or
or it’s multiple. four or their multiple.

In some monocot plants, calyx and The calyx and corolla in dicot
corolla are undifferentiated, and a plants are differentiated
perianth is present instead of them. completely.

The flowers in monocots are The flowers in dicot plants are

usually wind-pollinated. usually insect-pollinated.

The pollen grain is monocolpate The pollen grain is tricolpate

Pollen grains with a single furrow or ridge on the with three or more furrows or
pollen tube. ridges on the pollen tube.

The seed germination in the

The seed germination in the
Germination dicot embryo is either hypogeal
monocot embryo is hypogeal.
or epigeal.

The embryo in monocots contains The embryo in dicots contains

only one cotyledon or seed leaves. two cotyledons or seed leaves.

Embryo
Embryo produces a single leaf that Embryo produces two seeds
grows as a long and narrow that develop into different
structure during germination. shapes than their true leaf.

The endosperm is always present The endosperm may or may not

Endosperm
and is usually large. be present and is usually small.

Trilocular fruit is found in Pentalocular fruit is found in

Fruit
monocotyledons. dicotyledons.

Bamboos, bananas, asparagus, Roses, oak trees, daisies, peas,

Examples ginger, tulips, lilies, palms are beans, cactus are some
some examples of monocots. examples of dicots.

Examples of Monocots
 Grasses
 Grasses are a group of flowering plants that form small flowers and have monocotyledonous seeds.
 Grasses are one of the most economically important groups of flowering plants consisting of cash crops
like wheat, barley, and rice.
 The seeds in these plants have a single cotyledon or embryonic leaves.
 Grasses have all the characteristics of monocotyledonous plants with long narrow leaves and fibrous root
systems.
 The flowers in grasses are not the most obvious as the flowers lack petals and sepals. However, these are
flowering plants with small flowers.
 Grasses belong to the Poaceae family, which is the second-largest group of flowering plants among all
monocots.

 Lilies
 Lilies are flowering plants that are monocotyledonous with a single cotyledon in their embryo or seed.
 Lilies have all the characteristics of monocots with leaves with parallel venation and an adventitious root
system.
 Additionally, the flowers in lilies are trimerous with the number of petals and sepals in the multiple of
three.
 The plant is small and herbaceous, which is characteristic of all monocots.
 Some lilies, however, have different flowers making it difficult to distinguish them from other dicots.
 Sometimes, it looks as the flower is formed of a single petal. The petal is a modified leaf termed spathe,
underneath which are the real petals.

Examples of Dicots
 Legumes
 Legumes are one of the most important groups of dicotyledonous plants. These belong to the
Leguminosae family of flowering plants where the seeds of the plants act as the fruit.
 Dry legumes are also termed pulses.
 Legumes are mostly grown for human consumption, for livestock, or as soil-enhancing fertilizers.
 These plants, like most dicots, have a tap root system where the roots exist in a symbiotic relationship
with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the form of root nodules.
 The symbiotic relation allows an important agricultural phenomenon called crop rotation.
 The fruit in legumes is biologically unique where a simple dry fruit is developed from a single carpel.
 The most common legumes include peas, beans, lentils, soybeans, chickpeas, clover, etc.

 Cactus
 Cactus is also dicotyledons with small pentamerous flowers that exist for a short period of time during
their lifecycle.
 Cactus, plural cacti, is a desert plant that is capable of surviving on a limited supply of water.
 The flowers in cacti may not always be the same as some flowers are known to have numerous petals and
stamens.
 However, when examined carefully, some cacti have pentamerous flowers with five petals and sepals.
 Besides, the root system in the cactus is a tap root system with a primary root divided into numerous
secondary and tertiary roots. This branching allows the plants to absorb some water that might be present
deep under the earth’s surface.