Monocotyledons or monocots are a group of flowering plants usually ranked as a class and once called the Monocotyledoneae. This taxonomic grouping is now named Liliopsida after the type genus, Lilium. Flowering plants not included in the Liliopsida are dicotyledons or dicots. These two broad groups are distinguished by the number of cotyledons, or embryonic leaves, in their seeds: dicots have two, and monocots have one. Family Arecaceae Arecales is the botanical order which includes only the palm family, Arecaceae. ... Families Commelinaceae Haemodoraceae Hanguanaceae Philydraceae Pontederiaceae The Commelinales are an order of monocots, including the spiderwort family, Commelinaceae. ... Families (APG) Anarthriaceae Bromeliaceae Centrolepidaceae Cyperaceae Ecdeiocoleaceae Eriocaulaceae Flagellariaceae Hydatellaceae Joinvilleaceae Juncaceae Mayacaceae Poaceae Rapateaceae Restionaceae Sparganiaceae Thurniaceae Typhaceae Xyridaceae The Poales is a cosmopolitan order of monocotyledonous flowering plants. ... Families Cannaceae Costaceae Heliconiaceae Lowiaceae Marantaceae Musaceae Strelitziaceae Zingiberaceae The Zingiberales are an order of monocots, including familiar plants like bananas and ginger. ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Type specimens When a new species is discovered, more important than creating a new and unique name for the species is developing a reasonably detailed description. ... Species Lilium bulbiferum - Orange lily Lilium canadense - Canada lily Lilium candidum - Madonna lily Lilium humboldtii - Humboldts lily Lilium lancifolium - Tiger lily and about 100 more species The showy and large flowered plants of the genus Lilium are the true lily plants. ... Orders see text Dicotyledons or dicots are flowering plants whose seed contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. ... This seedling germinated producing two plain-looking cotyledons later followed by two normal-looking leaves that are small copies of the adult leaves. ... A seed is the ripened ovule of gymnosperm or angiosperm plants. ...

The monocots are considered to form a monophyletic group which evolved from an early dicot. The earliest fossils presumed to be monocot remains date from the early Cretaceous period. The largest modern monocot family is the Orchidaceae (orchids), plants which have specialized in insect pollination. For this reason many species of orchids produce very complex flower structures. The second largest and perhaps more notable family, the Poaceae (true grasses), have evolved in another direction, becoming highly specialized for wind pollination. Grasses produce small, generally inconspicuous flowers. In phylogenetics, a group is monophyletic (Greek: of one stem) if all organisms in that group are known to have developed from a common ancestral form, and all descendants of that form are included in the group. ... The Cretaceous period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic period (about 146 MYA) to the beginning of the Paleocene epoch of the Tertiary period (65. ... Genera Over 800 See List of Orchidaceae genera. ... Classes & Orders Subclass: Apterygota Orders Archaeognatha (Bristletails) Thysanura (Silverfish) Monura - extinct Subclass: Pterygota Orders Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Infraclass: Neoptera Orders Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (walking sticks) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera... Pollination is an important step in the reproduction of seed plants: the transfer of pollen grains (male gametes) to the plant carpel, the structure that contains the ovule (female gamete). ... Subfamilies There are 7 subfamilies: Subfamily Arundinoideae Subfamily Bambusoideae Subfamily Centothecoideae Subfamily Chloridoideae Subfamily Panicoideae Subfamily Pooideae Subfamily Stipoideae The true grasses are monocotyledonous plants (Class Liliopsida) in the Family Poaceae, formerly also known as Gramineae. ...

Taxonomy

The APG II classification System, developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, recognizes ten orders of monocots and two families not yet assigned to any order, and divides these among the Base Monocots and Commelinids: The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group is an international group of systematic botanists who have come together to try to establish a consensus view of the taxonomy of flowering plants in the light of the rapid rise of molecular systematics. ...

• Base Monocots
  • Family Petrosaviaceae
  • Acorales
  • Alismatales
  • Asparagales
  • Dioscoreales
  • Liliales
  • Pandanales
• Commelinids
  • Family Dasypogonaceae
  • Arecales
  • Commelinales
  • Poales
  • Zingiberales

Genera Japonolirion Petrosavia Petrosaviaceae are family of flowering plants. ... Species Acorus calamus Acorus gramineus Acorus is a genus of monocot flowering plants. ... Families Alismataceae Aponogetonaceae Araceae Butomaceae Cymodoceaceae Hydrocharitaceae Juncaginaceae Limnocharitaceae Posidoniaceae Potamogetonaceae Ruppiaceae Scheuchzeriaceae Tofieldiaceae Zosteraceae The order Alismatales contains the alismatids, a group of monocotyledons (class Liliopsida). ... Families according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group Agapanthus Agavaceae Alliaceae Amaryllidaceae Aphyllanthaceae Asparagaceae Asphodelaceae Asteliaceae Blandfordiaceae Boryaceae Doryanthaceae Hemerocallidaceae Hyacinthaceae Hypoxidaceae Iridaceae Ixioliriaceae Lanariaceae Laxmanniaceae Orchidaceae Ruscaceae Tecophilaeaceae Themidaceae Xanthorrhoea Xeronema Asparagales is an order of monocots which includes a number of families of non-woody plants. ... Families Burmanniaceae Dioscoreaceae Nartheciaceae An order of monocots formerly grouped with the Liliales. ... Families Alstroemeriaceae Campynemataceae Colchicaceae Corsiaceae Liliaceae Luzuriagaceae Melanthiaceae Philesiaceae Ripogonaceae Smilacaceae Liliales is an order of monocotyledonous flowering plants. ... Families Cyclanthaceae Pandanaceae Stemonaceae Triuridaceae Velloziaceae The Pandanales are an order of flowering plants. ... Family Arecaceae Arecales is the botanical order which includes only the palm family, Arecaceae. ... Families Commelinaceae Haemodoraceae Hanguanaceae Philydraceae Pontederiaceae The Commelinales are an order of monocots, including the spiderwort family, Commelinaceae. ... Families (APG) Anarthriaceae Bromeliaceae Centrolepidaceae Cyperaceae Ecdeiocoleaceae Eriocaulaceae Flagellariaceae Hydatellaceae Joinvilleaceae Juncaceae Mayacaceae Poaceae Rapateaceae Restionaceae Sparganiaceae Thurniaceae Typhaceae Xyridaceae The Poales is a cosmopolitan order of monocotyledonous flowering plants. ... Families Cannaceae Costaceae Heliconiaceae Lowiaceae Marantaceae Musaceae Strelitziaceae Zingiberaceae The Zingiberales are an order of monocots, including familiar plants like bananas and ginger. ...

Distinguishing traits

Monocots all share some traits. These traits can be used to distinguish a monocot from its close relative, a dicot. A monocot has a single cotyledon in its seed. It gets its name 'monocot', because mono means one and a monocot has one cotyledon. Another distinguishing trait is that a monocot's flower is arranged in multiples of three. For example, a monocot's flower could have three, six, or nine petals. A monocot has leaves with parallel veins running down it. Orders see text Dicotyledons or dicots are flowering plants whose seed contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. ... This seedling germinated producing two plain-looking cotyledons later followed by two normal-looking leaves that are small copies of the adult leaves. ...

References

• Chase MW, Soltis DE, Soltis PS, Rudall PJ, Fay MF, Hahn WJ, Sullivan S, Joseph J, Molvray M, Kores PJ, Givnish TJ, Sytsma KJ, Pires JC (2000). Higher-level systematics of the monocotyledons: An assessment of current knowledge and a new classification. In: Wilson KL, Morrison DA, eds. Monocots: Systematics and Evolution.. CSIRO, Melbourne. 3-16. ISBN 0643064370

External links

• Tree of Life Web Project: Monocotyledons