What are some important features of dicots?

i. Embryo with two cotyledons. ii. Pollen with three furrows or pores. iii. Flower parts in multiples of four or five. iv. Majority of time leaf veins are reticulated. v. Stem vascular bundles are in the form of a ring. vi. Roots develop from radical. vii. Secondary growth observed in Dicots. read less

dicot (Magnoliopsida) traits 1. The cotyledons are the "seed leaves" produced by the embryo; dicotyledons have two seed leaves. 2. Pollen structure -- dicots have three furrows or pores in its pollen (triporate). 3. Number of flower parts -- petals, stamens, or other floral parts. Dicot flowers tend to have multiples of four or five (four, five, ten, etc.). This character is not always reliable, however, and is not easy to use in some flowers with reduced or numerous parts. 4. Leaf veins in dicots usually have numerous auxillary veins which reticulate between the major veins. As with the number of floral parts, this character is not always reliable, as there are many monocots with reticulate venation, notably the aroids and Dioscoreales. 5. Stem vascular arrangement -- Vascular tissue occurs in long strands called vascular bundles. These bundles, in the stem of dicots, form a cylinder of sapwood just under the bark & cork cambium. This appears as a green ring surrounding the older heartwood and center pith when you cut across the stem. 6. Root development -- Dicots have tap root systems with primary roots, which are thick for long extension & to penetrate deeply. They then have small, lateral roots to act as nutrient collectors. In most dicots the root develops from one end of the embryo, from a region known as the radicle. The radicle gives rise to an apical meristem which continues to produce root tissue for much of the plant's life. 7. Secondary growth -- Perennial dicots increase their diameter through secondary growth, producing wood and bark. They have bifacial lateral cambium that is the meristem tissue to give rise to xylem and phloem vascular tissue in annual rings. read less