Science Journal Entries (4), Monocot/Dicot
Ms. Pelton's 7th Gr Science, 3/04

There are two types of angiosperms, monocots and dicots.  Mono, which means one, has one seed leaf.  Di, which means two, has two seed leaves.  Some examples of monocots are wheat and tulips.  An example of a dicot is a rose.  Monocots and dicots are the two types of angiosperms.

Though monocots and dicots share being in a group of angiosperms, monocots are very different from dicots.  Monoc9ots have parallel veins that run side by side from each other.  Monocots also have flower parts in threes.  The vascular tissue of monocots are scattered and a monocot has only one cotyledon.  Those are the characteristics of monocots.

Dicots differ from monocots in many ways.  Monocots have parallel veins, where dicots have branching veins.  Dicot’s flower parts are in fours or fives.  The vascular tissue in monocots are scattered; however, in dicots the vascular tissues are in a circle.  The dicot also has one more cotyledon than the monocot, which makes the dicot have two cotyledons.  Hence, monocots and dicots have very different characteristics.

Tulips and daisies are both angiosperms.  Nevertheless, which one is a dicot and which one is a monocot?  Tulips are monocots because of the characteristics it has.  Such as, parallel veins and the flower parts in threes.  Daisies are dicots because of the branching veins and the flower parts are in fours or fives.  With the characteristics we can conclude that tulips are monocots and daisies are dicots.

Thus, knowing the characteristics of monocots and dicots we could use it to find out which plants were in which group.  Also, by comparing monocots to dicots we could tell that there were a lot of differences between them. 

By  Rebecca W

 Angiosperms are plants that produce their fertilized seeds in fruits or ripened ovaries.  Angiosperms are divided into two groups: monocots and dicots.  All angiosperms produce flowers and fruits.  Monocots and dicots have some very distinct differences.

All monocots have one seed leaf or cotyledon where they store their food when they are young plants.  On their leaves monocots also have parallel veins.  They also have scattered bundles in veins(no specific organization).  Monocots also have their flower parts in threes, so the parts can go three, six, nine, etc. some examples of monocots are grasses and corn.

All dicots have two seed leaves or cotyledons, and like the monocots the dicots store their food for when they are young.  Dicots have branching veins on their leaves as well.  They have circles of veins so they do have some organization in their body.  Dicots have their flower parts in the multiples of either four or five.  One example of a dicot is a rose.

The tulip in a monocot, while the daisy is a dicot.  I can tell because I can see the distinct characteristics of each.  The tulip had parallel veins while the daisy had branching veins in its leaves.  One of the tulips had six petals and the daisy had too many to count but I know that it’s a dicot so it has its flower parts in either a multiple of four or five.  These are the only characteristics I can use to determine if the plant is a monocot or dicot.

Monocots and dicots are easy to organize because of their differences in characteristics.  Therefore if you know the characteristics of monocots and dicots it’s easy to see what is what.  All monocots and dicots are angiosperms.  Angiosperms are plants that produce their fertilized seeds in fruits.  If you know all of this and you like science you would think that it’s easy.

By Christopher C

People look at flowers every day and don’t realize they are looking at a monocot or a dicot.  Some people don’t know the difference and some people don’t know they are put in groups like monocots and dicots.

Monocots have a lot of characteristics that you can see just by looking at the flower but others such as the one seed leaf or the scattered bundles of veins you can’t see just by looking.  You would have to cut the stem.  The characteristics that you can see are the flower parts are in threes, then it’s a monocot.  For example, if you were counting the petals of a flower and you counted nine petals then you would be looking at a monocot.  The veins in the leaves can also tell you if it’s a monocot or a dicot because if it has parallel veins in the leaves then it’s a monocot.

Dicots also have visible and non-visible characteristics.  For example, dicots have branching veins in their leaves and a circle of veins in their stems.  They also have 2 seed leaves and flower parts in fours or fives.

The tulip is a monocot and the daisy is a dicot.  I know this because the tulip has parallel veins in the leaves and the daisy has branching veins.  Also, the tulip has six petals on the flower and because six is a multiple of three that makes it a monocot.

Now you know about monocots and dicots and how to tell which is which, so next time you go to a florist look at the characteristics of the flowers and find out if it’s a monocot or dicot and while you are doing that think of me!

By Megan D

There are two main types of angiosperms: monocots and dicots.  Angiosperms are flowering plants that produce seeds enclosed in a fruit.  Like all plants with seeds they are vascular and have leaves, stems, and roots.  However, they have characteristics that make them different.

A monocot has many characteristics that identify it.  First of all it has one cotyledon.  “Mono” means one and “cot” is short for cotyledon.  A cotyledon is a food storing leaf that is attached to the seed.  A monocot also has scattered bundles in its stem and parallel veins.  Another way to tell a monocot is the flower parts.  All the parts come in threes such as 3,6,9,12…  It also has fibrous roots.

The dicot one the other hand has two cotyledons.  It has rings in its stems and its veins branch out.  All of its parts are in fours or fives.  It has tap roots.  These characteristics help tell a dicot.

Using these characteristics one can determine whether a flowering plant is a monocot or dicot.  A tulip is a monocot because its flower parts come in threes and it has parallel veins.  The daisy is a dicot because it has branching veins and would have (if counted) flower parts in fours or fives.

As one can see, telling a monocot from a dicot is quite simple.  All one needs to do is know the characteristics for both and compare.