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monocotyledon
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Agave angustifolia plant with long, narrow, pointed green leaves edged in white, growing among rocks outdoors.
Caribbean agave A large Caribbean agave (Agave angustifolia).

monocotyledon

plant
Also known as: Liliopsida, Monocotyledonae, monocot
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monocotyledon, one of the two great groups of flowering plants, or angiosperms, the other being the eudicotyledons (eudicots). There are approximately 60,000 species of monocots, including the most economically important of all plant families, Poaceae (true grasses), and the largest of all plant families, Orchidaceae (orchids). Other prominent monocot families include Liliaceae (lilies), Arecaceae (palms), and Iridaceae (irises). Most of them are distinguished by the presence of only one seed leaf, or cotyledon, in the...

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