monocotyledonous

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   having or relating to a single cotyledon in the seed, as in grasses, lilies, palms, and other monocots

   The botanist identified the grass as monocotyledonous from its single seed leaf and parallel veins.

Formed from mono-, 'one,' + cotyledon + -ous. Cotyledon comes through Latin from Greek kotyledon, 'cup-shaped hollow,' applied in botany to an embryonic seed leaf. Monocotyledonous therefore literally means 'having one cotyledon.'

Topics