Monocotyledon, or monocot for short, refers to one of two groups of flowering plants, or “angiosperms.” Most flowering plants are traditionally divided into two different categories: monocots and dicots. Members of each group tend to share similar features
Monocots, as the name implies, are defined by having seeds that contain a single (mono-) embryonic leaf known as a cotyledon. This is a monophyletic group that constitutes a majority of our agricultural biomass and include many important crop staples including, but not limited to, rice, wheat, corn, sugar cane, bamboo, onion, and garlic.
A word of caution: when classifying flowers into monocots or dicots, remember that there are always exceptions to the rule. Some monocots may have a feature typically found in dicots, or vice versa. Even a few flowering plants (approximately 2%) don’t fit into either the monocot or the dicot category.
Features used to Distinguish Monocots from Dicots
Monocots differ from dicots in six distinct structural features. Five of these features are easily observed in the mature angiosperm: the flowers, leaves, roots, stems, and pollen grains. But the root of these differences stem from the very early embryonic stages of the angiosperm, providing the biggest difference of all between monocots and dicots, is the seed.