In botanical terms, plants are traditionally divided into two primary categories based on the number of their embryonic leaves or cotyledons. In this context, “monocot” refers to flowering plants that have a single cotyledon, while “dicot” describes flowering plants with two cotyledons. Apart from the number of cotyledons, these two plant types show significant differences in other plant parts such as the roots, stems, and especially the leaves. This article will delve into the distinguishing features of monocot and dicot leaves.
Keep in mind that there are exceptions to some of the differences outlined below.
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| Dicot plants typically have smaller, broader leaves | Monocot plants usually have longer, narrower leaves |
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| The stomata of dicot leaves are kidney-shaped | Monocot leaf stomata are dumb-bell shaped |
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| Dicot leaves are hypostomatic, meaning the stomata are located on the leaf's lower surface | Monocot leaves are amphistomatic, with stomata on both the upper and lower surfaces |
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| Dorsoventral orientation | Isobilateral orientation |
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| Dicots leaves have a darker green upper surface and a lighter green lower surface | Both sides of monocot leaves have the same color |
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| Large | Both small and large vascular bundles can be found in monocot leaves |
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| Dicot leaves have larger intercellular spaces due to the presence of mesophyll cells | Monocot leaves have smaller intercellular spaces because of the compact arrangement of mesophyll cells |
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| Dicot leaf mesophyll is differentiated into an upper palisade and lower spongy mesophyll | Monocot leaves do not show such differentiation |
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| Reticulate venation (a web-like pattern) | Parallel venation (veins do not intersect with each other) |
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| Collenchymatous | Sclerenchymatous |
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| Parenchymatous | Sclerenchymatous |
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