LEARNING OUTCOME 3 & 4

• LO 3: Classify flowering plants.

• LO 4: Describe the monocot and eudicot plants.

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 FLOWERING PLANTS: ANGIOSPERMS

• Flowering plants are the most successful, and abundant plants, classified in the
phylum Anthophyta. Angiosperms dominate other groups with about 235 000
species.

• They are classified into 5 groups, 3 constitute about 4% of the phylum Anthophyta
namely; Ceratophyllum (6 species), Chloranthales (70 species), Mangoliids (9 000
species), while Monocotyledonae (70 000) and Eudicotyledonae (175 000) accounts
for about 96% in this group.

• Angiosperms are found in almost every habitat from forests and grasslands to sea
margins and deserts. Angiosperms display a huge variety of life forms including
trees, herbs, submerged aquatics, bulbs, and epiphytes. The largest plant
families are Orchids, Compositae (daisies), and Legumes (beans).

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 CHARACTERISTIC OF FLOWERING PLANTS

• Angiosperms are seed-bearing vascular plants that reproduce sexually by forming

• Another defining characteristic of flowering plants is that the ovules, which develop
into seeds after fertilization, are enclosed within an ovary, which later becomes a
fruit.

• The ovary is the enlarged base of a carpel or the enlarged bases of a group of
fused carpels.
• The fruit protects the developing seeds and often aids in their dispersal.
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 IMPORTANCE OF FLOWERING PLANTS

• Food source: All our major food crops are flowering plants, such as cereal crops
rice, wheat, maize, and barley.
• Timber source: Woody flowering plants such as oak, cherry, and walnut.
• Fiber source: such as cotton and linen
• Medicinal value: digitalis and codeine
• Source of Products: cork, rubber, tobacco, coffee, chocolate, and aromatic oils for
perfumes that come from flowering plants.

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 FLOWERING PLANTS ARE DIVIDED INTO TWO SUBCLASSES

• Monocotyledons / monocots
• Dicotyledons / dicots / eudicots

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 MONOCOTYLEDONS / MONOCOTS

• Monocots are herbaceous plants that consist of about 70 000 species and most are
grasses, orchids, irises, onions, lilies, and palms.
• They are characterized by long narrow leaves with parallel venation.
• The parts of monocot flowers usually occur in threes or in multiples of 3. For
example, a flower may have three sepals, three petals, six stamens, and a
compound pistil consisting of three fused carpels.
• Monocot pollen grains have a single pore or furrow as a germination opening.
• Monocot seeds have a single cotyledon or embryonic seed leaf; endosperm, a
nutritive tissue is usually present in the mature seed.

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 DICOTYLEDONS / DICOTS / EUDICOTS

• Eudicots are woody and herbaceous, more diverse compared to monocots with
about 175 000 species, making the largest group of flowering plants. Eudicots
include plants like include oaks, roses, mustards, cacti, blueberries, and
sunflowers.
• They are characterized by broad leaves with netted venation
• The parts of a eudicot flower occur in fours or fives or in multiples.
• Pollen grains have three pores or furrows as germination openings.
• Eudicots seeds have two cotyledons, and endosperm is usually absent in the
mature seed, having been absorbed by the two cotyledons during seed
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 MONOCOTS AND DICOTS DIFFERENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Flower

• Seed

• Leaves

• Stem – vascular system

• Root system

• Pollen grain

• Secondary growth

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 FLOWER
Monocots Dicots
3's or multiples, rarely more than 6. 4, or 5, or multiples up to 10

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 SEED
Monocots Dicots

I cotyledon or 1 seed leaf inside the seed 2 cotyledon or 2 seed leaves inside the seed
coat. coat.

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 LEAVES

Monocots Dicots
Parallel venation Net venation
Sessile leaf Petiolate leaf

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 STEM

Monocots Dicots
Vascular bundles usually scattered or Vascular bundles arranged in a circle
more complex arrangement (ring)

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 ROOTS

Monocots Dicots
Fibrous root system Tap root system

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 POLLEN GRAIN

Monocot Dicot
One furrow or pore Three furrows or pores

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