A flowering plant with seeds containing two cotyledons (seed leaves), typically characterized by netted leaf veins, flower parts in multiples of four or five, and vascular bundles arranged in rings. Examples include roses, oaks, and beans.
From Greek 'di' (two) and 'kotyledon' (cup-shaped cavity), referring to the paired seed leaves. This classification term emerged alongside 'monocot' in 18th-century botanical taxonomy as scientists organized plants by fundamental structural differences.
Dicots are the master architects of the plant world, capable of growing thick woody trunks and complex branching patterns that monocots simply cannot achieve! This is why almost all trees (except palms and bamboos) are dicots, and why they dominate forest canopies worldwide.
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