Monocotyledons

Article By:

Chase, Mark W. Molecular Systematics Section, Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, Surrey, United Kingdom.

Fay, Michael F. Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom.

Last reviewed:January 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.757544

This group of flowering plants (angiosperms), with one seed leaf, was previously thought to be one of the two major categories of flowering plants (the other group is dicotyledons). However, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) studies have revealed that, although they do constitute a group of closely related families, they are closely related to the magnoliids, with which they share a pollen type with a single aperture. The other dicots, the eudicots, are much more distantly related. In general, monocots can also be recognized by their parallel-veined leaves and three-part flowers. Their roots have disorganized vascular bundles, and if they are treelike (yuccas, aloes, and dracaenas) their wood is unusually structured. Among the important monocots are grasses (including corn, rice, and wheat), lilies, orchids, palms, and sedges. See also: Dicotyledons; Eudicotyledons; Flower; Grass crops; Liliales; Magnoliophyta; Orchid

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