List Of Monocots

Annual Monocot Border – The Scott Arboretum's Garden Seeds

May 27, 2009

Every year, we re-design the area below the wall and in front of the arbor in the T erry Shane Teaching Garden . These spaces were designed to display seasonal arrangements of annuals, tropicals, and tender perennials. Each year there is a different theme to the garden. In past years there have been different color designs, as well as thematic displays such as the border “Unabashedly Burle,” which featured a design akin to the works of the late Brazilian garden designer, Roberto Burle Marx. The purpose of the border is to showcase interesting tender plants designed in a provocative manner.

This years’ theme is Annual Monocot Border, designed by Rhoda Maurer. The inspiration for this botany theme came while simply flipping through catalogs and realizing that the majority of these plants were part of the monocot classification.

Monocots are one of two major groups of flowering plants, the angiosperms. Monocots are recognized by having one cotyledon (embryonic seed-leaf) in contrast to two cotyledons typical of dicots. Many monocots have leaves with parallel veination, adventitious roots, and flower petals in multiples of three.

Typical monocot borders in a temperate climate like ours are often assemblages of perennial grasses and/or agricultural grains with a few hardy aroids and bulbs. But a selection of monocots from the tropics has given us the opportunity for some colorful punctuation and has added textural contrast to the annual monocot border. To further focus the design for this year’s border, Rhoda selected monocots within the orange, red, purple, and green color families.

Preliminary list of the Monocots of Ohio, exclusive of the grasses

Essentials of biology

The natural history review

Wild lilies, irises, and grasses, gardening with California monocots

Michigan Flora: Gymnosperms and monocots