When we want to grow our own plants by obtaining seeds from these same vegetables, we have to take into account how they multiply naturally; that is, what organs do their flowers have to allow the development of a new generation.
Therefore, in gardening it is very important to know what are dioecious and monoecious plants, since knowing your answer will save us more than one headache 🙂.
What are dioecious plants?
Dioecious plants are those that little by little we are leaving, unfortunately, a little aside as they are not very profitable. They are those that are distinguished between male and female specimensTherefore, for fertilization to occur, the pollen of the former must fertilize the ovary found in the flowers of the latter.
Examples
Delicious actinidia
Image - Wikimedia / Rob Hille
The kiwi is a deciduous climbing plant that reaches 9 meters in height. The leaves are about 7,5 to 12,5cm long, and they produce flowers with 5-6 yellow petals, and with numerous stamens, although the female ones do not have viable pollen.
Cycas revoluta
Image - Wikimedia / Danorton
Known as a cica, false palm or king sago, it is a plant that can measure 6-7 meters and has a trunk no more than 30 centimeters thick. The leaves are dark green, with a length of between 50 to 150 centimeters. They produce inflorescences that, in the case of the male specimens, are long and in the case of the female ones, they are more rounded and compact..
Ginkgo biloba
Image - Flickr / Salomé Bielsa
It is known as the ginkgo or tree of the forty shields, and it is one of the most popular living fossils in the world. It is a deciduous tree, with a height of about 35 meters, that develops a somewhat pyramidal crown. The male specimens have yellow inflorescences grouped in catkins, and the female ones produce flowers grouped in 2-3.
Persea americana
Image - Wikimedia / A16898
The avocado or avocado is an evergreen tree that does not usually exceed 12 (although in the wild it reaches 20m), with a more or less rounded crown formed by alternate leaves of 2 to 5cm. The inflorescences are panicles composed of 5-6mm flowers, yellow in color.
Pistacia Vera
Image - Wikimedia / Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz
It is known as pistachio or alfóncigo, and it is a deciduous tree up to 10 meters high with pinnate leaves 10 to 20 centimeters long. The flowers have no petals and are gathered in clusters, being the feminine reddish and the masculine green-yellowish.
What are monoecious plants?
Monoecious plants are gaining ground over dioecious ones, at least in gardens and orchards. They are vegetables that present the male and female organs on the same floor. There are three types:
- Monocline-monoecious: they present the reproductive apparatus in the same flower, such as the Tulipa sp (tulip).
- Diclino-monoecious: the same plant has male flowers and female flowers, such as the zea mays (corn).
- Polygams: a single plant has hermaphroditic and unisexual flowers, such as the Carica papaya (papaya).
Examples
acer opalus
Image - Wikimedia / Isidre blanc
It is known as orón or asar, and it is a deciduous maple that reaches 20 meters in height with a trunk up to 1 meter in diameter. The crown is made up of palmately lobed leaves 7 to 13cm long by 5-16cm wide, green in color that turn reddish in autumn before falling. The flowers are small and yellow.
Cocos nucifera
Image - Wikimedia / Yasagan
The coconut tree is a unicaule palm tree - with a single trunk - that reaches 10 to 20 meters in height, with pinnate leaves of 3-4 meters long. The flowers are grouped in inflorescences that sprout in the axils of the lower leaves, which are protected by a spathe or bract of 70 centimeters in length.
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus trees are evergreen trees that can measure up to 60 meters, and specimens of 150 meters have even been found. The leaves are ovate and greyish, which sprout from branches which arise from a straight trunk. They produce white, yellow or reddish flowers, grouped in inflorescences.
Almond
Popularly known as almond tree, it is a deciduous shrub or tree up to 5 meters high with simple, lanceolate leaves of 7,5 to 12,5 cm in length. The flowers are solitary or appear grouped, and are composed of five white or pink petals.
Quercus ilex
Image - Wikimedia / Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz
Known as short, short or evergreen oak that reaches between 16 and 25 meters in height. Its crown is rounded, with leathery dark green leaves. The male flowers are orange or brown catkins, and the female ones are small, solitary or in groups of two., orange-yellow in color.
What are the parts of a flower?
To find out if a flower is male, female or hermaphrodite, It will be enough for us to look at whether you have androecium (male part), and / or gynoecium (female part). All flowering plants have some of the parts that you can see in the image above, so that with this image you can easily and quickly know what type of plant you have.
I hope it has been useful to you.