Exploring Flower Types and Their Environment

Monocots
and
Dicots

What is the difference?

Monocots and Dicots

​What are they?

Monocots and dicots are ways to describe the different categories of angiosperms, or flowering plants.

​Well what is the difference between these two flowers? (Besides the color)
The first flower has 3 petals, while the second one has 5.

​What is the difference between these leaves?
Look at the veins. The veins of the leaf on the left all run parallel. But, the veins of the other leaf are branching out.

​Now what is the difference between these roots?
On the first plant, it has roots running in all directions. And the second root has one big root with little roots coming off of it. The first root system is called a fibrous root, and the second root is called a taproot.

​	​Monocot	​Dicot
​Flowers	​Petals in groups of 3	​Petals in groups of 4 or 5
​Leaves	​Parallel veins	​Branched veins
​Roots	​Fibrous root	​Taproot

​Using all that information we just gathered, this chart will tell us what traits define either a monocot or a dicot.

Most likely, you will not pull up every plant you see to determine if it is monocot or dicot, but it is still helpful to know what the roots will look like on a plant depending if it is monocot or dicot.

Multiple Choice

Is this tulip:

Monocot or Dicot?

• Monocot

• Dicot

Multiple Choice

Are these iris:

Monocot or Dicot?

• Monocot

• Dicot

Multiple Choice

Are these apple blossoms:

Monocot or Dicot?

• Monocot

• Dicot

Multiple Choice

Are these sunflowers:

Monocot or Dicot?

• Monocot

• Dicot

Multiple Choice

If a plant has 4 petals is it monocot or dicot?

• Monocot

• Dicot

Multiple Choice

If a plant has fibrous roots, is it monocot or dicot?

• Monocot

• Dicot

Multiple Choice

If a plant has parallel veins, is it monocot or dicot?

• Monocot

• Dicot

​Please take the quizz: What kind of flowers

Make a chart showing what traits are monocot and which are dicot.

​Homework