What are monoecious plants?

Monoecious plants, also known as "hermaphroditic" or "bisexual" plants, are those that have both male and female reproductive organs on the same individual plant. In other words, a single monoecious plant will produce both male and female flowers, allowing it to self-pollinate and produce seeds without needing another individual of the same species for pollination.

This is in contrast to dioecious plants, where individual plants are either exclusively male or exclusively female. Dioecious plants require pollen from a separate individual of the opposite sex for successful pollination and seed production.

Monoecious plants can be found in a wide range of plant families and species, including corn (maize), squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and many types of trees such as oaks and pine trees. These plants have evolved various mechanisms to prevent self-pollination and promote cross-pollination between the male and female flowers on the same plant, thereby increasing genetic diversity within the population.