dicotyledon

The structure of seeds. The castor is a dicotyledon, a plant in which the developing plant has two leaves, developed from the cotyledon. In maize, a monocotyledon, there is a single leaf developed from the scutellum.

Major subdivision of the angiosperms, containing the great majority of flowering plants. Dicotyledons are characterized by the presence of two seed leaves, or cotyledons, in the embryo, which is usually surrounded by the endosperm. They generally have broad leaves with netlike veins.

Dicotyledons may be small plants such as the daisy and buttercup, shrubs such as the blueberry, or trees such as oak and birch. The other subdivision of the angiosperms is the monocotyledons.