Glossary:
1. dicots
2. monocots
3. embryo
4. cotyledon
5. seed
6. dicotyledons
7. monocotyledons
8. ovary
9. ovules
10. flowers
Fruits and Seed Dispersal
The primary function of the fruit (produced by the ovary) is to aid in dispersal of
the seed. A seed must leave the parent plant in order to grow into a new plant, and
often disperses fairly large distances from the parent plant. A seed benefits from
dispersal by avoiding competition with its parent, and being deposited in locations
good for germination and plant growth. Fruits can be dispersed by gravity, wind,
water, ingestion by animals, or adhesion to animals.
Dicots and Monocots
Angiosperms fall into two different groups based on flower and body morphology,
and on embryo development. These two groups are the dicotyledons (dicots) and
the monocotyledons (monocots). The dicots are not a monophyletic group – they
are actually paraphyletic. See the phylogeny below.
Dicots and monocots differ in germination and plant morphology. See the table
below for the major differences in these two types of angiosperms. In addition to
these traits, it is also the case that monocots tend to be herbaceous ( grasses and
grains) while dicots are ~50% herbaceous and 50% woody species.
MONOCOTS
DICOTS
Embryo with single cotyledon
Embryo with two cotyledons
Pollen with single furrow or pore
Pollen with three furrows or pores
Flower parts in multiples of three
Flower parts in multiples of four or five
Major leaf veins parallel
Major leaf veins reticulated
Stem vascular bundles scattered
Stem vascular bundles in a ring
Roots are adventitious
Roots develop from radicle
Secondary growth absent
Secondary growth often present
It is the difference in seed structure that defines these two groups: dicots have 2
seeds leaves (cotyledons), while monocots have only 1 seed leaf. Seed germination
also differs between these two groups.
Monocots have vascular tissue in bundles throughout the stem. In contrast, dicot
vascular bundles are arranged in a ring around the outside of the stem.
Division Anthophyta (Angiosperms):
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Flowering plants are the most successful group of plants today
They live in almost all possible habitats
All flowering plants produce both flowers and fruit
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Fruit is a ripened ovary with its seeds (acorns, apples, dandelion
seeds, etc)
Flowering plants co-evolved with their insect pollinators
May be herbaceous (grasses and snapdragons or woody (oaks and
grape vines)
Rafflesia, the stinking corpse lily, is the world's largest flower
Flowering plants have diverse lifestyles (Sundew is carnivorous
on insects; Spanish moss is an epiphyte living on another host
plant; some orchids are saprophytes living on soil fungi)
Subdivided into 2 classes based on the number of seed leaves or
cotyledons in the plant embryo --- Monocotyledons and
Dicotyledons
Monocots have a single seed leaf, leaves with parallel venation,
vascular tissue scattered in bundles throughout the stem, and
flower parts in 3's or multiples of 3
Dicots have a 2 seed leaf, leaves with net-veined venation,
vascular tissue in rings in the stem, and flower parts in 4's or 5's
multiples of 4 or 5
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Monocots are usually herbaceous, while dicots often produce
wood