“Monoecious” describes the group in which each plant bears both male and female flowers.
With dioecious species, each plant is either a male or female member.
In the event of insufficient pollination, both monoecious and dioecious plants can be hand-pollinated.
Blue Princess holly can be a prolific berry-producer, provided she has a ‘Blue Prince’ around to pollinate her.The Spruce / David Beaulieu
For example,holly shrubs (Ilex)are dioecious plants.
This naturally raises the question of how to tell the genders apart.
If the plant is dioecious, the male and female blossoms appear on separate plants.
Illustration: Ellen Chao. © The Spruce, 2019
If the plant is monoecious, each plant has both male and female flowers.
The process of reproduction occurs right within the individual flowers.
An example of a plant with perfect flowers is thelily (Lilium).
Anand Swaroop / EyeEm / Getty Images
By some definitions, hermaphroditic plants with perfect flowers are considered to be part of the monoecious group.
Only about 5 percent of all plants fall into this category.
By some estimates, fully 90 percent of all plants fall into this category.
Thus, many bisexual plants cross-pollinate rather than self-pollinate.
One male plant pollinates several female plants.
Yes, all dioecious plants are unisexual.
Their flowers have only male or female reproductive parts.
Botanical Terminology: Flowers, Houses, and Sexual Reproduction.
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
Monoecious, dioecious, and hermaphroditic plants: explanation.Plantura.
North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension.
