Difference Between Monocot and Dicot: Definitions, Examples, Comparison and Useful Facts

Monocot and Dicot Overview

Botanists categorise a wide range of plants in order to make them easier to see and study. The presence or absence of flowers in a plant typically determines its classification. They can be further separated into two main types according to how they look and how many leaves have sprouted. Cotyledons are a crucial part of the embryo that is contained in a seed. The presence or absence of seeds defines all plants. Also split into flowering (angiosperms) and non-flowering (gymnosperms) plants, are those plants that produce seeds. The division of flowering plants into monocots and dicots follows. The distinctions between monocots and dicots will be covered today.

Difference Between Monocot and Dicot

The following table examines the morphological differences in the leaves, stems, flowers, and fruits of monocots and dicots-

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Definition of Monocotyledons

Flowering plants known as monocotyledons (often referred to as monocots) typically have seeds with only one embryonic cotyledon. There are almost 60,000 monocot species, the majority of which are herbaceous. Monocots got their name from the structure of their seeds, which had just one cotyledon at the end.

Habitat

There are monocotyledons in a variety of settings, although they are most prevalent in tropical regions. Many species can be found in a variety of other settings, such as ponds, rivers, lakes, coastal aquatic ecosystems, barren plains, and even polar habitats, despite the fact that they are typically found in great numbers in low areas. Due to a lack of specific woody tissue, monocots typically do not grow into trees.

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Characteristics of a Monocot Plant

The following are the characteristics of monocot plants-

1. Flower Pattern: Monocotyledon flowers typically have one stigma, one calyx, three stamens, and three petals, and their floral parts are well-organised, structured, or placed in multiples of three.
2. Seeds: There is only one cotyledon in the seed.
3. Leaves: Typically, the leaves of monocots are isobilateral, meaning that both sides have essentially the same appearance and are towards the sun (mostly vertically aligned). The parallel venation, plane edge, and extended sheath of the delicate leaves surround the stem constantly. Additionally, these are fixed, i.e., distinctly attached to its base (without a stalk). However, several monocots, including Smilax, are still thought to have netted veins.
4. Stems: The majority of monocots are herbaceous, which means they lack an arboreal structure and have delicate, green stems (woody). Most of their smooth, branchless stalks. Vascular bundles are the lengthy, organised strings of vascular tissue. These bundles are widely scattered throughout the vast cross-section of the stem in monocots, with more bundles located near the stem edge than the centre. For monocots, this pattern is unusual.
5. Roots: Roots can grow from a primary radicle or, in the case of adventitious roots, from clusters of stem nodes. It is well known that monocots have accidental roots. The monocot roots lack secondary thickening because they lack a vascular cambium, which is where secondary vascular tissue grows.

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Examples

Corn, rice, sugarcane, sorghum, ginger, orchid, onion, garlic, banana, coconut, palm, tulips, lilies, daffodils, etc are different monocot examples.

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Definition of Dicotyledons

Following are the characteristics of Dicot Plants:

Flowering plants with two cotyledons in the seed embryo are known as dicotyledons or dicots. About 175,000 well-known species of dicots exist. These plants contain vascular bundles that are specifically organised to give them a cylindrical shape. A cortex and a stele make up a dicot plant's vascular system.

Habitat

Every other plant you see outside your house is a dicotyledon, if you look normally. Dicots are thus ubiquitous. The most well-known plants are dicots, which include roses, cacti, and oak trees.

Characteristics of a Dicot Plant

1. Flower Pattern: Dicot plants typically have pentamerous flowers, which are blossoms that come in multiples of four or five. Although not usually true to form, this character is more difficult to apply in flowers with smaller or more intricate elements. Petals, sepals, pistils, and the plant's reproductive organ make up the dicot flower components.
2. Seeds: The dicots are distinguished by having two collateral cotyledons in each seed. Due to the fact that they represent the two parts of the seed, the seed leaves are primarily ring-shaped and hefty.
3. Leaves: A dicot's dorsoventral layout can result in either complex or simple leaves. They frequently have uneven borders, rough or dissected skin, and net or reticulate venation.
4. Stem: The xylem and phloem, two systems that work together to transport water and minerals from the root to the various parts of the plant, are present in the stems' solid, circular vascular bundles. Food created inside the leaves is transported to the storage compartments by the phloem. Such plants are naturally vascular because they have between 2 and 4 xylem and phloem tissues. Conjunctive tissue is a layer of parenchymatous cells that further differentiates them.
5. Roots: There is a tap root system in these plants. They also have two components-

• Root hair frequently develops in the external epidermis.
• The endodermis within.
• In the majority of dicots, the radicle, or bottom end of the embryo, is where the root first appears. 

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An apical meristem that continuously produces root tissue results from it. Root systems often carry out the following tasks-

• Consumption of liquids and organic materials.
• Securing the plant's body to the ground.
• A source of nutrients and food

Examples

Roses, oak trees, daisies, peas, beans, cactus, magnolia, marigolds, sunflowers, buttercups, asters, dandelions, etc are common dicot examples.

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The class to which monocots belong is called Liliopsida-

Dicots are members of the class Magnoliopsida-

Useful Facts for Monocot and Dicot

The majority of plant species classified as monocots are grasses and other plants with grass-like characteristics. The kinds of plants that fall under this group are most frequently irises, lilies, and amaryllises. Bushes, trees, plants for vegetable gardens, etc. are examples of dicotyledonous plants. When researching monocots and dicots, it's important to keep in mind that not all of them have traits that make them easily distinguishable from one another. Encourage kids to do experiments that will clarify the distinctions between the two. The architecture, roles, and growth of many monocot and dicot species can be better understood in this way.

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