Dicotyledonous

Dicotyledonous plants, also known as dicots, are one of the two major types of flowering plants or angiosperms. The other group is the monocotyledonous plants, or monocots. The name "dicotyledonous" comes from the presence of two cotyledons in the seed of the plant.

Characteristics

Dicotyledonous plants have several distinguishing characteristics:

• They have two cotyledons in their seeds.
• The leaves of dicots usually have a network of veins that branch out from a central main vein.
• The flower parts of dicots are usually in multiples of four or five.
• The vascular bundles (tissue that transports water and nutrients) in the stem are arranged in a ring.

Classification

In the traditional classification system, dicotyledonous plants were grouped into a single class, called Dicotyledoneae or Magnoliopsida. However, modern phylogenetic studies have shown that this group is not a natural one, as it includes many unrelated lineages. Therefore, in the modern classification system, the dicots are divided into several different classes, based on their evolutionary relationships.

Examples

Examples of dicotyledonous plants include many common plants such as roses, peas, oak trees, and daisy flowers.

See also

• Monocotyledonous
• Cotyledon
• Angiosperms
• Flowering plants

References

Dicotyledonous Resources
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