The key difference between eudicots and monocots is that eudicots are the typical dicot plants that have three furrows or pores (tricolpate) in their pollen while monocots are the plants that have a single pore or furrow (monosulcates) in their pollen.
Flowering plants or angiosperms are the plants that produce flowers to carry out sexual reproduction. There are two main groups of angiosperms as eudicotyledons (eudicots) and monocotyledons (monocots). Eudicotyledons have two cotyledons while monocotyledons or monocots contain only one cotyledon. Moreover, eudicots have three pores in their pollens while monocots have only one pore in their pollens.
CONTENT
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Eudicots
3. What are Monocots
4. Similarities Between Eudicots and Monocots
5. Side by Side Comparison – Eudicots vs Monocots in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What are Eudicots?
Eudicots are the largest group of flowering plants and include about three-quarters of the flowering plants. They are also known as tricolpates plants since they have three apertures or pores in their pollens. Therefore, they bear tricolpate pollens, unlike monocots. Moreover, eudicots produce two cotyledons when their seeds germinate. Furthermore, eudicots show secondary growth. Their leaves have a netlike venation pattern. Most importantly, their flowers have four or five floral parts. Another speciality of eudicots is that their sieve elements contain plastids having starch grains. In addition to these, eudicots have a tap root system, unlike monocots.
Figure 01: Eudicots
Several eudicot families are buxaceae, didymelaceae, ceratophyllaceae, nelumbonaceae, platanaceae, proteaceae, sabiaceae, berberidaceae, circaeasteraceae, eupteleaceae, and trochodendraceae.
What are Monocots?
Similar to eudicots, monocots are also a group of angiosperms. However, they account for only about one-quarter of the flowering plants. They have only one aperture in their pollens. Furthermore, they produce one cotyledon in the seedling during the seed germination. Their floral parts are multiples of three. Monocot leaves show a parallel venation pattern and their leaves do not show differentiation into leaf blade and petiole. In a cross-section of the stem, vascular bundles are scattered.
Figure 02: Monocots
Monocot plant families include poaceae (true grasses), orchidaceae (orchids), liliaceae (lilies), arecaceae (palms), musaceae, zingiberaceae, asparagaceae, bromeliaceae, cyperaceae and iridaceae (irises).
What are the Similarities Between Eudicots and Monocots?
- Eudicots and monocots are two great groups of flowering plants or angiosperms.
- They are monophyletic groups.
- Moreover, they produce flowers and seeds.
What is the Difference Between Eudicots and Monocots?
Eudicots produce tricolpate pollens with three pores while monocots produce monosulcate pollens with a single pore. So, this is the key difference between eudicots and monocots. Moreover, eudicots produce two cotyledons in their seedlings while monocots produce one cotyledon in their seedlings. Therefore, we can consider this as another key difference between eudicots and monocots.
Furthermore, floral parts of eudicots are four or five while floral parts of monocots are multiples of three. Also, the venation is another difference between eudicots and monocots. Reticulate venation pattern can be observed in leaves of eudicots while parallel venation patterns can be seen on leaves of monocots.
The below infographic summarizes the difference between eudicots and monocots.
Summary – Eudicots vs Monocots
Eudicots account for three-quarters of flowering plants while monocots account for one-quarter of flowering plants. The key difference between eudicot and monocots relies on the number of apertures in their pollens. Eudicots have three apertures in the pollen while monocots have one aperture in the pollen. Moreover, eudicots produce two cotyledons in their seedlings while monocots produce one cotyledon in their seedlings. Besides, eudicots have four or five floral parts while monocots have multiples of three floral parts.
Reference:
1.“Eudicots.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., Available here.
2. “Monocots.” Biology Reference, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Primulas aka” By André Karwath aka Aka – Own work (CC BY-SA 2.5) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Wheat close-up”By User:Bluemoose – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia