Dicots are characterized by which feature?

Dicots, or dicotyledons, are a group of flowering plants that are distinguished by having two primary leaves, or cotyledons, in the seed. This feature is a fundamental aspect of their classification and affects other traits such as leaf venation, flower structure, and overall plant growth form. The presence of these two cotyledons is significant because it plays a critical role in the early stages of plant development, providing nutrients to the young plant as it emerges from the seed.

This characteristic of having two primary leaves allows dicots to develop broader leaves with a net-like vein pattern, which is quite different from monocots that typically feature a single primary leaf and parallel venation. While some dicots can be woody or herbaceous, the defining feature lies in the cotyledons, making the two primary leaves a more definitive characteristic of the group.