Like other members of the grass family, corn is a monocot. It has only one cotyledon or seed leaf. Corn plants contain both male and female flowers in different locations on the plant. An ear of corn is actually a female flower stalk, resting between the sheaths of the leaf and stem.
A monocotyledonous seed has embryos that possess only one large cotyledon called scutellum. Generally, the scutellum is shaped like a shield. It is located laterally towards the side of the embryo axis. Like dicotyledons, the embryo axis of monocotyledons possesses a shoot tip called the plumule.
