Eudicots
Eudicots are flowering plants with tricolpate pollen and two cotyledons.
The eudicots or eudicotyledons are flowering plants that have two seed leaves (cotyledons) upon germination. The term derives from dicotyledon (etymologically, eu = true; di = two; cotyledon = seed leaf). Historically, authors have used the terms tricolpates or non-magnoliid dicots. Doyle and paleobotanist Carol L. Hotton, to emphasize the later evolutionary divergence of tricolpate dicots from earlier, less specialized, dicots. Scores of familiar plants are eudicots, including many commonly cultivated and edible plants, numerous trees, tropicals and ornamentals. Among the most well-known eudicot genera are those of the sunflower (Helianthus), dandelion (Taraxacum), forget-me-not (Myosotis), cabbage (Brassica), apple (Malus), buttercup (Ranunculus), maple (Acer) and macadamia (Macadamia). Most leafy, mid-latitude trees are also classified as eudicots, with notable exceptions being the magnolias and American tulip tree (Liriodendron)—which belong to the magnoliids.
- field
- Botany
- known_for
- True dicotyledons with tricolpate pollen; constitute over 70% of angiosperm species
- introduced_by
- James A. Doyle and Carol L. Hotton
- alternative_names
- tricolpates, non-magnoliid dicots
Lore & Background
The close relationships among flowering plants with tricolpate pollen grains was initially seen in morphological studies of shared derived characters. These plants have a distinct trait in their pollen grains of exhibiting three colpi or grooves paralleling the polar axis. Later molecular evidence confirmed the genetic basis for the evolutionary relationships among flowering plants with tricolpate pollen grains and dicotyledonous traits. One of the genetic traits which defines the eudicots is the duplication of DELLA protein-encoding genes in their most recent common ancestor. The term 'eudicots' has subsequently been widely adopted in botany to refer to one of the two largest clades of angiosperms (constituting over 70% of the angiosperm species), monocots being the other. The remaining angiosperms include magnoliids and what are sometimes referred to as basal angiosperms or paleodicots, but these terms have not been widely or consistently adopted, as they do not refer to a monophyletic group. Fossil records suggested that basal eudicots were already diverse around 121 million years ago.
Reader's Guide
The eudicots represent a major clade of flowering plants, encompassing over 70% of angiosperm species. Their significance lies in their defining trait—tricolpate pollen (pollen with three furrows or colpi)—which distinguishes them from other seed plants that typically have monosulcate pollen. This pollen structure, along with the duplication of DELLA protein-encoding genes, provides a clear evolutionary marker. Doyle and Carol L. Hotton to replace the older, non-monophyletic grouping 'dicots.' The eudicots include many familiar plants: sunflowers, dandelions, cabbages, apples, maples, and macadamias, as well as most leafy mid-latitude trees (except magnolias and tulip trees). The group is subdivided into basal eudicots (paraphyletic) and core eudicots (monophyletic), with core eudicots further divided into Gunnerales and Pentapetalae. The Pentapetalae split into Dilleniales, superrosids, and superasterids. This classification is used in the APG systems (1998 to 2016).
Did You Know?
- Eudicots constitute over 70% of all angiosperm species.
- One genetic trait defining eudicots is the duplication of DELLA protein-encoding genes in their most recent common ancestor.
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