Monocot Seed Structure and Scutellum — NEET Biology
✅ Asked in NEET 2025The endosperm is bulky and stores food. The outer covering of endosperm separates the embryo by a proteinous layer called aleurone layer. The embryo is small and situated in a groove at one end of the endosperm. It consists of one large and shield shaped cotyledon known as scutellum and a short axis with a plumule and a radicle. The plumule and radicle are enclosed in sheaths which are called coleoptile and coleorhiza respectively.
The scutellum is the single, shield-shaped cotyledon unique to monocots (like wheat and rice), which absorbs nutrients from the bulky endosperm for the developing embryo. Students often confuse scutellum with the typical dicot cotyledons or mistakenly think monocots have two cotyledons. The key distinction is that scutellum is specialized for nutrient absorption, not storage, and sits in a groove touching the endosperm directly. To score correctly: remember scutellum = monocot cotyledon, shield-shaped, absorbs food; distinguish it from dicot cotyledons which store food themselves. Since NTA explicitly tested this in 2025 and emphasizes monocot-dicot differences, expect questions comparing monocot vs. dicot seed structures.
This paragraph was tested 2 times in NEET.
Match List-I with List-II LIST-I A. Scutellum B. Non-albuminous seed C. Epiblast D. Perisperm LIST-II I. Persistent nucellus II. Cotyledon of Monocot seed III. Groundnut IV. Rudimentary cotyledon
In the seeds of cereals, the outer covering of endosperm that separates the embryo by a protein-rich layer is called:
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