Monocot Gallery

Monocots are a type of flowering plant that have one cotyledon, or embryonic leaf, in their seed

Narcissus tazetta, tazetta daffodil
Painting by Pierre Joseph Redoute (1759-1840), from his publication Choix des plus belles fleurs (The Most Beautiful Flowers), c. 1827-33. Illustration entitled Narcisse a plusieurs fleurs

Strelitzea sp. bird of paradise flower
Plate 911 from the John Reeves Collection of Botanical Drawings from Canton, China. Held in the Botany Library at the Natural History Museum, London

Livistona humilis, sand palm
Plate 225 from Botanical Drawings from Australia (1801) by Ferdinand L Bauer (1760-1826)

Macrozamia communis, burrawang palm
Drawing LS 16 from the Watling Collection by Port Jackson Painter, 1788-1797. Illustration entitled Buroowang

Ophrys apifera, bee orchid
Watercolour by Arthur Harry Church, 17 June 1913

Cypripedium reginae, ladys slipper orchid. Also known as pi
Although the current name of this orchid is Cypripedium reginae, the name on the original plate reads Cypripedium spectabile, which may have been the name accepted at the time

Angraecum sesquipedale, Madagascan orchid
This species of orchid was used by Darwin to prove his theories of evolution. Illustration from The British Museum (Natural History) by Peter Whitehead and Colin Keates, 1981

Cypripedium candidum, small white lady s-slipper
Illustration from the Botany Library Plate Collection held at the Natural History Museum, London

Flame lily (Gloriosa sp.)
Flame lily ( Gloriosa sp. ) flower with openpetals and stamens topped by anthers

Snowdrop (Galanthus Sp.) single flower in snow, Buckinghamshire, England, UK, February

Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) on Eype Down with Colmers Hill in background, Bridport, Dorset, England, UK. May 2014

Vegetable roots
Plate 4 from Le Regne Vegetal, Vol 12, Hort. Atlas (1870). Held in the Botany Library at the Natural History Museum, London. Entitled Racines alimentaires

Cypripedium calceolus, Ladys slipper orchid
Watercolour from British Orchids (1792-1817), by Franz Andreas Bauer (1758-1840). Held in the Botany Library at the Natural History Museum, London

Ananas aculeatus, pineapple
Illustration from the Botany Library Plate Collection held at the Natural History Museum, London

Food plant bulbs
Plate 8 from Le Regne Vegetal, Vol 12, Hort. Atlas (1870). Held in the Botany Library at the Natural History Museum, London. Illustration entitled Plantes bulbeuses alimentaires

Arum dioscoridis
Engraving by George Sowerby from original watercolour by Ferdinand Bauer, published in Flora graeca 10 (1840) by James Edward Smith

Bluebells (Hyacinthoides sp.)
Bluebell flowers (Hyacinthoides sp.) in woodland. Photographed in spring, in Dorset, UK

Ananas comosus, pineapple
A photograph of the detail from one of the decorative ceiling panels from the roof of the Natural History Museums Central Hall. Showing Ananas comosus, pineapple

Nymphaea sp. water lily
Watercolour No. 15 by Walter Hood Fitch, c. mid-1800s. Held in the Botany Library at the Natural History Museum, London

Allium flower (Allium sp.)

Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) in flower, Lenaderg House, Banbridge Co. Down, Northern Ireland

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) flowering in woodland. Near village of Alport, Peak District National Park, Derbyshire, March

Urania speciosa; Palm
Watercolour from the John Reeves Collection; c.1820s Date: 1820

Elaeis guineensis Jacq. African oil palm
Illustration from the Botany Library Plate Collection held at the Natural History Museum, London

Arundo donax, giant reed
Illustration from the Botany Library Plate Collection held at the Natural History Museum, London

Phormium tenax, New Zealand flax
A watercolour commissioned by Sir Joseph Banks and sketched by Sydney Parkinson during the Endeavour Voyage. Parkinson died at sea before he could complete it

Cattleya skinneri, English orchid
Plate 13 from Orchidaceae of Mexico and Guatemala (1837-1843) by James Bateman. Held in the Botany Library at the Natural History Museum, London

Northern pike (Esox lucius) amongst Shining pondweed (Potamogeton lucens). Lake Neuchatel, Switzerland, September. Photographed for The Freshwater Project

Wild daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) Bay, Ullswater, Lake District, England, UK, March

American lobster (Homarus americana) in eelgrass (Zostera marina). Nova Scotia, Canada. July

Small pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly (Boloria selene), Marsland mouth, Cornwall, UK. JUne 2016

Quiver tree (Aloe dichotoma) with the Milky Way at night, and light pollution from town in the distance, Keetmanshoop, Namibia. Colours accentuated digitally

Purple-throated hummingbirds, male
In a fascinating example of sexual dimorphism and plant-animal relationships: the male hummingbird with a larger body and short

Yucca aloifolia, Spanish Bayonet plant

Areca sp
Plate 987 from the John Reeves Collection of Botanical Drawings from Canton, China. Held in the Botany Library at the Natural History Museum, London

Licuala sp
Plate 981 from the John Reeves Collection of Botanical Drawings from Canton, China. Held in the Botany Library at the Natural History Museum, London

Agapanthus, lily of the Nile

Strelitzia sp
Watercolour by Ralph Stennett, 1805. Held in the Botany Library at the Natural History Museum, London

Crinoids
Criniods lived during the Lower Jurassic period. Their modern equivalents include echinoderms such as seaurchins, starfish and sea cucumbers

Iris sp. blue iris
Folio 67 from A Collection of Flowers (1795) by John Edwards. Held in the Botany Library at the Natural History Museum, London

Strelitzia reginae, golden bird of paradise

Maize root, light micrograph
Maize root. Light micrograph of a section through the root of a maize plant (Zea mays) showing a vascular cylinder (centre)

Darwins Orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale) species which is pollinated by a long-tongued moth, from Ambila, Madagascar. Photograph taken on location for BBC Wild Madagascar Series, August 2009

Macrocystis pyrifera, giant kelp
Giant kelp, also known as kelp forest, seaweed and sea grass. Specimen annotated as Macrocystis pirifera from South Africa, held at the Natural History Museum, London

Crocus sativus, saffron
Plate 25 from Le Regne Vegetal. Vol 10 Flore Medicale Atlas 3 (1870). Held in the Botany Library at the Natural History Museum, London

Saccharum officinarum, sugar cane
An iconographic image of a sugar cane plant, set enlarged within a landscape. Plate from the Botany Library Plate Collection held in the Natural History Museum, London

Friticum hordeiforme, wheat
Illustration from the Botany Library Plate Collection held at the Natural History Museum, London

Cocos nucifera L. coconut tree
A drawing by Paul Hermann from the collection of five volumes of specimens and drawings from Sri Lanka (Ceylon) 1672-1677. (Vol. 5 Page 137)

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Monocots are a type of flowering plant that have one cotyledon, or embryonic leaf, in their seed. They also have leaves with parallel veins and flower parts in multiples of three, and are typically herbaceous plants, meaning they don't produce woody tissue. Monocots include grasses, lilies, orchids, palms and bamboos. Monocots tend to be more drought tolerant than dicot plants due to their fibrous root systems which absorb water quickly and efficiently. They also tend to grow faster than dicots due to the higher concentrations of nutrients in their leaves, and are an important part of many ecosystems as they provide food for animals and help stabilize soils by preventing erosion.