Which of the following is not a monocotyledonous seed?

Analyze the question: You need the one seed that is not monocotyledonous. A monocot seed has one cotyledon. A dicot seed has two.

Explain the concept:

• Monocots (one cotyledon) are mostly grasses and cereals. They have parallel-veined leaves, fibrous roots, and scattered vascular bundles. Examples are maize, millet, wheat, rice, sorghum, and sugarcane.
• Dicots (two cotyledons) are mostly legumes and broadleaf plants. They have net-veined leaves and a tap root system. Examples are beans, cowpea, groundnut, mango, and orange.

Solution, option by option:

• A. Cowpea: a legume (family Fabaceae). Its seed splits into two halves, which are the two cotyledons. It is a dicot.
• B. Maize: a cereal grass with one cotyledon. It is a monocot.
• C. Millet: a cereal grass. It is a monocot.
• D. Wheat: a cereal grass. It is a monocot.

Only cowpea is a dicot, so it is the one that is not monocotyledonous.

Tip: Think "cereals and grasses = monocots" (maize, millet, wheat, rice, guinea corn). Think "beans and legumes = dicots" (cowpea, soybean, groundnut, pigeon pea). If you can split a seed into two halves, as with beans, it is a dicot.