cotyledon

Examples of cotyledon in the following topics:

• Double Fertilization in Plants

  • In dicots (eudicots), the developing embryo has a heart shape due to the presence of the two rudimentary cotyledons.
  • In this case, the food reserves are moved into the two cotyledons.
  • As the embryo and cotyledons enlarge, they become crowded inside the developing seed and are forced to bend.
  • Ultimately, the embryo and cotyledons fill the seed, at which point, the seed is ready for dispersal .
  • (b) In the second stage, the developing embryo has a heart shape due to the presence of cotyledons.

• Development of the Seed

  • Monocot and dicot seeds develop in differing ways, but both contain seeds with a seed coat, cotyledons, endosperm, and a single embryo.
  • The portion of the embryo between the cotyledon attachment point and the radicle is known as the hypocotyl.
  • In monocots, the single cotyledon is called a scutellum; it is connected directly to the embryo via vascular tissue.
  • Dicots (left) have two cotyledons.
  • The embryonic axis comprises everything between the plumule and the radicle, not including the cotyledon(s).

• Diversity of Angiosperms

  • Angiosperm diversity is divided into two main groups, monocot and dicots, based primarily on the number of cotyledons they possess.
  • Flowering plants are divided into two major groups according to the structure of the cotyledons and pollen grains, among others.
  • Plants in the monocot group are primarily identified as such by the presence of a single cotyledon in the seedling.
  • Eudicots, or true dicots, are characterized by the presence of two cotyledons in the developing shoot.

• The Life Cycle of an Angiosperm

  • The zygote develops into an embryo with a radicle, or small root, and one (monocot) or two (dicot) leaf-like organs called cotyledons.
  • The cotyledons serve as conduits to transmit the broken-down food reserves from their storage site inside the seed to the developing embryo.