Examples of Unisexual Flowers in Crops and Trees

Unisexual flowers are common in many agricultural and ornamental plants. These plants can be monoecious or dioecious, and their reproductive strategies are essential for crop production.

Crops with Unisexual Flowers

• Maize (Zea mays): Corn is a monoecious plant with distinct male flowers (tassels) at the top of the plant and female flowers (ears) on the lower parts of the plant.
• Cucumbers (Cucumis sativus): Cucumbers have both male and female flowers on the same plant. Male flowers appear first and are typically smaller, while female flowers develop fruit.
• Squash (Cucurbita spp.): Squash plants also exhibit unisexual flowers, with separate male and female flowers on the same plant.

Trees with Unisexual Flowers

• Holly (Ilex aquifolium): A dioecious species, holly has male flowers on male plants and female flowers on female plants. Only female holly trees produce berries.
• Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba): Ginkgo trees are dioecious, with male trees producing small pollen cones and female trees producing ovules that can develop into seeds.
• Willows (Salix spp.): Willows are dioecious plants with male and female flowers found on separate trees.