Morphology, Compared To The (broadly Defined) Dicotyledons
The traditionally listed differences between monocotyledons and dicotyledons are as follows. This is a broad sketch only, not invariably applicable, as there are a number of exceptions. The differences indicated are more true for monocots versus eudicots.
| Feature | In monocots | In dicots |
|---|---|---|
| Number of parts of each flower | in threes (flowers are trimerous) | in fours or fives (tetramerous or pentamerous) |
| Number of furrows or pores in pollen | one | three |
| Number of cotyledons (leaves in the seed) | one | two |
| Arrangement of vascular bundles in the stem | scattered | in concentric circles |
| Roots | are adventitious | develop from the radicle |
| Arrangement of major leaf veins | parallel | reticulate |
The vast majority of Monocots lack a petiole in their leaves.
A number of these differences are not unique to the monocots. For example, trimerous flowers and monosulcate pollen are also found in magnoliids. Exclusively adventitious roots are found also in Nymphaeaceae and some of the Piperaceae. Similarly, at least one of these traits, parallel leaf veins, is far from universal among the monocots. Monocots with reticulate leaf veins are found in a wide variety of monocot families: for example, Trillium, Smilax (greenbriar), and Pogonia (an orchid), and the Dioscoreales. Nevertheless, this list of traits is a generally valid set of contrasts, especially when contrasting monocots with eudicots rather than non-monocot flowering plants in general.
Read more about this topic: Monocotyledon
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