noun
- plants that flower and produce fruit only once before dying
Usage: botanical term
Examples
- Bamboo species are monocarps that may live for decades before flowering once and dying.
- Many agave plants are monocarps, producing a spectacular flower spike before the plant dies.
- The century plant is one of the most famous monocarps in desert gardens.
- Botanists study monocarps to understand their unique reproductive strategies.
- Some palm species are monocarps that invest all their energy into a single reproductive event.
- Monocarps differ from perennial plants that can reproduce multiple times throughout their lives.