• 12 differences
  • Checked September 2026

Dicot Flower Diagram, with a Monocot Beside It

Six differences between monocots and dicots, each drawn as a pair.

Dicot Flower Diagram, with a Monocot Beside It

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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Write the name of each numbered difference.Answer key

  1. Flower parts in threes
  2. Flower parts in fours or fives
  3. Parallel veins
  4. Net veins
  5. One cotyledon (seed leaf)
  6. Two cotyledons (seed leaves)
  7. Fibrous roots
  8. Taproot
  9. Scattered vascular bundles
  10. Vascular bundles in a ring
  11. Pollen with one furrow
  12. Pollen with three furrows

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a difference is answered.

Next step Next: the parts inside one flower

All 12 differences on the diagram

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Flowers and leaves 4

  1. Flower parts in threes Monocot. The flower parts come in threes or multiples of three. Here are six petal-like parts, six stamens and a pistil with three lobes.
  2. Flower parts in fours or fives Dicot. The flower parts come in fours or fives or their multiples. Here are five petals, five sepals and ten stamens.
  3. Parallel veins Monocot. Main veins run the length of the leaf side by side. They do not branch into a net, as in a blade of grass.
  4. Net veins Dicot. Veins branch from a midrib and branch again, making a net. Botanists call the leaf net-veined, or its veins netted.

Seedlings and roots 4

  1. One cotyledon (seed leaf) Monocot. The embryo in the seed has one cotyledon, or seed leaf. The name monocotyledon says so.
  2. Two cotyledons (seed leaves) Dicot. The embryo in the seed has two cotyledons. Here they have come up as a pair of thick seed leaves.
  3. Fibrous roots Monocot. The first root does not last. Many roots of about the same size grow from the base of the stem and make a fibrous root system.
  4. Taproot Dicot. The seedling's first root keeps growing. It often becomes a strong main root, with smaller roots branching from it.

Stems and pollen 4

  1. Scattered vascular bundles Monocot. Bundles of tubes are scattered all through the stem. They carry water and food.
  2. Vascular bundles in a ring Dicot. The vascular bundles are arranged in a ring. It lies between the outside of the stem and its middle.
  3. Pollen with one furrow Monocot. Each pollen grain has a single furrow or pore.
  4. Pollen with three furrows Dicot. Each pollen grain has three furrows or pores.

How this list was compiled: Every difference checked on 2026-09-30 against sources read that day; each is given by at least two of them: (1) North Carolina State Extension, Extension Gardener Handbook, chapter 3, Botany (Table 3-1, Differences between monocots and dicots), https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/3-botany; (2) Oregon State University Extension, Botany Basics (Comparison between monocots and dicots), https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/techniques/botany-basics; (3) Wikipedia, Monocotyledon (comparison table), Dicotyledon and Eudicots (text only). Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

This dicot flower diagram sets a monocot flower diagram beside it, so the parts can be counted in fives and in threes. Five more pairs follow, with the monocot always on the left and the dicot on the right.

Read the full guide

Six pairs

Numbers 1 and 2 are the flowers: parts in threes, parts in fours or fives. Numbers 3 and 4 are the leaves, with parallel veins and net veins. Numbers 5 to 8 are a seedling with one cotyledon, a seedling with two, fibrous roots and a taproot. Numbers 9 to 12 are the stems, cut across, and the pollen grains.

  • To tell a flower's group, count its petals. Three or six points to a monocot; four or five to a dicot.
  • These are the usual differences, not laws. Some plants break one or another of them.

Questions and answers

What does a dicot flower look like?

Its parts come in fours or fives, or multiples of them: for example five petals, five sepals and ten stamens. A monocot flower's parts come in threes, such as three or six petals.

What is the difference between a monocot and a dicot?

A monocot has one cotyledon in its seed and a dicot has two. Monocots usually have flower parts in threes, parallel veins, scattered vascular bundles and fibrous roots. Dicots usually have parts in fours or fives, net veins, bundles in a ring and a taproot.

How can you tell a monocot leaf from a dicot leaf?

Look at the veins. In a monocot leaf the main veins run side by side along the leaf. In a dicot leaf they branch from a midrib into a net.

What is a cotyledon?

A seed leaf: a leaf that is already part of the embryo inside the seed. Monocot means one cotyledon and dicot means two.

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