Are Roses Monocots or Dicots?

Most plants are divided into two major categories, monocots and dicots. Both types of plants are leafy and flowering, with stems, root systems and reproduction via pollen. However, there are some major differences between the two types of plant families. Rose plants are in the dicot family.

If you were to take a cross section of the stem of the plant and look at it, you would see the vascular bundles. These vascular bundles are like the arteries of the plant, carrying nutrients throughout. In a monocot, the vascular bundles are scattered through the stem. Only 10 percent of monocots are woody. An easy way to recognize a monocot is to look at how it grows. Monocots grow up, rather than out. Examples of monocots include bamboo, orchids, bulb plants, grass and palm trees.

A dicot's vascular bundles are in a perfect ring close to the outside of the stem. About half of dicot species are woody. The petals are another way to distinguish a dicot from monocot. A dicot has clusters of four or five flowers, while monocots only have three.

Roses are dicots, and they belong to the same family as other important dicots -- including plums, raspberries, apples and cherries. This family is called Rosacea. These flowers all have a similar look, usually white with five petals, with the exception of the rose, which has many petals. The rose, like its close relatives, is also a fruiting plant and produces rose hips used in tea. There are more than a hundred species of roses in the world.

Dicots grow out rather than up, another indication that rose bushes are included in the dicot family. Other dicot examples include grapevines, daisies, cacti and most fruit trees. Most dicots are compatible with one another in the wild, often growing near each other. Herbs like mint are included in the dicot family, as are large trees like the oak and maple trees.