Have you ever heard the terms "monocot" and "dicot"? These are short for the botanical terms monocotyledon and dicotyledon, which are not nearly as intimidating as they might sound. As a true grammar nerd, my method is to break the words down into sections to render them more easily explained.



Let's start with the second half: A cotyledon is a seed leaf, meaning the first leaf (or leaves) that sprouts from a newly germinated seed. Now for the first parts of those words: Mono means one, so a monocotyledon is a plant that has one seed leaf when it sprouts. Grasses, sedges and rushes are common monocots. Di means two, and so it follows that a dicotyledon is a plant with two seed leaves. Most of the flowering plants that we grow in our gardens are dicots, except for the aforementioned grasses and grass-like plants. The picture above shows Phlox drummondi, an annual flower, with its new seed leaves. As you can see, there are two seed leaves to each plant, making this an example of a dicot.



What's the difference between a seed leaf and a regular leaf (called a true leaf)? Those seed leaves are just the first photosynthesizing powerhouses to burst out of a seed, but they do not resemble the true leaves the plant will continually grow. This picture of a columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) shows how the seed leaves and true leaves differ. Notice those distinctive clover-shaped true leaves of the columbine, and how the seed leaves look nothing like them.

Essentially, the terms monocot and dicot are ways to classify different types of plants. This time of year, when seed starting is in full swing, is the ideal time to understand these differences in the real garden.

—Rose Rankin