di·cot·y·le·don / dīˌkätlˈēdn/ • n. Bot. a flowering plant (class Dicotyledoneae or Magnoliopsida) with an embryo that bears two cotyledons (seed leaves). Dicotyledons constitute the larger of the two great divisions of flowering plants, and typically have broad, stalked leaves with netlike veins (e.g., daisies, hawthorns, oaks). Compare with monocotyledon.DERIVATIVES: di·cot·y·le·don·ous / -əs/ adj.

dicotyledon Larger of the two subgroups of flowering plants or angiosperms, characterized by two seed leaves (cotyledons) in the seed embryo. Other general features of dicotyledons include broad leaves with branching veins; flower parts in whorls of fours or fives; vascular bundles in a ring in the stem and root; and a taproot. There are c.250 families of dicotyledons, such as the rose, daisy, and magnolia.

dicotyledon An angiosperm (flowering plant) in which the embryo characteristically has two cotyledons (though sometimes there are more). Compare MONOCOTYLEDON.

dicotyledon (bot.) flowering plant having two seed-lobes. XVIII. — modL. pl. dīcotylēdones; see DI-, COTYLEDON.