WELCOME TO OUR LITTLE GREEN WORLD

Let me tell you that it looks a little different from down here! 

  I may look beautiful on the outside,
                                       but wait until you see my insides. 

I represent the dicot half of my universe.  Here's a look inside my thorny stem.
         For a close-up click here

Above ground I may appear as a sweet, innocent, beautiful flower, but underneath I'm an entangled nutrient-sucking, ground-clenching, and surface-breaking web.

   To look at my "toes" click here

My arms seem rather simple but underneath that glossy surface many of my internal processes take place.                     

                                                    Look inside my delicate "hands", click here

Oh I'm sorry! I forgot to introduce the   OTHER  half of my family. . .

Tropical plants like us are from the monocot
                                      side of the plant family.

Even though I am not actually a tree, here is a look inside my trunk.

     Want a peek inside my body?  Click here

Here is a glance at the dark underside of my "body".

     Want a see what kind of toenail polish I wear?  Click here.

Those familar leaves of mine have a very complex system inside.

Push back my cuticles and see what's underneath.  Click here

These are the results from our observations of various slides in biology.

Here are the similarities between monocots and dicots:

They both have:   xylem towards the inside and phloem towards the outside of the vascular bundles
                           vascular bundles located in the center stele of the root
                           parenchymal cells
                           chlorophyll A, B, carotene, and xanthophyll
                           cell walls
                           palisades in the leaves
                           water vacuoles that expand and contract cells

Here are the differences:

Monocot                                                                   Dicot

One cotelydon                                                                         Two cotelydons
Parallel leaf veins                                                        Net-like leaf veins
Flower parts in multiples                                             Flower parts in multiples                of threes                                                                     of fours or fives
Vascular bundles are                                                   Vascular bundles                scattered                                                                  arranged in a ring
Fiberous root system                                                  Tap root
Usually bulbs                                                                - - - - - -

For some extra information and and example lab procedure click here