n. (Gr. monos, single; kotyledon, cup-shaped hollow) a class of angiosperms having an embryo with only one cotyledon, part of the flower usually in threes, leaves with parallel veins, and scattered vascular bundles.

One of the two main groups of flowering plants ( see Angiosperms). Characterized normally by the presence of just a single seedling leaf (cotyledon) and commonly by floral parts arranged in threes, parallel leaf veins and the inability to form secondary tissues, e.g. wood, from cell division within the tissues.

Flowering plants are separated into two classes: Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) and Liliopsida (monocotyledons). The class Liliopsida is composed entirely of "monocots" and these plants are distinguished by: one cotyledon (seed leaves that provide nourishment to the developing seedling), parallel veins and 3-merous (or multiples of 3) flowers.

Having one cotyledon or seed leaf.

Plants in which the seed sends up only a single seed-leaf (or cotyledon); characterised by the absence of consecutive layers of wood in the stem (endogenous growth), by the veins of the leaves being generally straight, and by the parts of the flowers being generally in multiples of three. ( Examples, Grasses, Lilies, Orchids, Palms, &c.) 124

or Monocots is the name given to flowering plants whose seed produces only one embryonic leaf or cotyledon