Monocotyledon reproduction
The monocots (or monocotyledons) are one of the two major groups of flowering plants (or Angiosperms), the other being the dicots (or dicotyledons). In order to reproduce they utilize various strategies such as employing forms of asexual reproduction, restricting which individuals they are sexually compatible with, or influencing how they are pollinated. Nearly all reproductive strategies that evolved in the dicots have independently evolved in monocots as well. Despite these similarities and their close relatedness, monocots and dicots have distinct traits in their reproductive biologies. Most monocots reproduce sexually through use of seeds that have a single cotyledon, however a great number of monocots reproduce asexually through clonal propagation. Breeding systems that utilize self-incompatibility are much more common than those that utilize self-compatibility. The majority of monocots are animal pollinated (zoophilous), of which most are pollinator generalists. Monocots have mechanisms to promote or suppress cross-fertilization (allogamy) and self-fertilization (autogamy or geitonogamy). The pollination syndromes of monocots can be quite distinct; they include having flower parts in multiples of three, adaptations to pollination by water (hydrogamy), and pollination by sexual deception in orchids. Methods of reproduction Seed production Reproducing through seeds is the most widespread method of reproduction in both monocots