A flowering plant having both the male and female flowers on the same plant is said to be

1. Analyze the question The question asks for the term describing a plant that bears separate male flowers and female flowers on the same individual plant.

2. Explain the concept Flowering plants are classified by where their reproductive organs are found:

• Monoecious ("one house"): male and female flowers are separate, but both occur on the same plant. Examples: maize, coconut, cucumber, pumpkin.
• Dioecious ("two houses"): male flowers are on one plant and female flowers are on another plant. Examples: pawpaw (usually), date palm.
• Regular (actinomorphic) and irregular (zygomorphic) describe flower symmetry, not the distribution of sexes. • Regular: can be cut into equal halves along more than one plane (e.g., hibiscus). • Irregular: can be cut into equal halves along only one plane (e.g., pride of Barbados).

3. Step-by-step solution

• Key clue: "male and female flowers on the same plant."
• Options A and B (regular/irregular) talk about symmetry, so they are eliminated.
• Option D (dioecious) means the flowers are on different plants, so it is eliminated.
• Option C (monoecious) fits exactly.

4. Answer The correct option is C. Monoecious.

5. Exam tip Remember: Mono = one, so monoecious means one plant carries both sexes. Di = two, so dioecious means two plants are needed. Maize is a great example: the tassel at the top has the male flowers, and the cob has the female flowers, all on one plant.