Ma'anar ƙamus na kalmar "monocotyledonous" yana da alaƙa da ko samun cotyledon guda ɗaya (ganyen amfrayo a cikin tsire-tsire masu ɗauke da iri, wanda ƙila ya ƙunshi abinci da aka adana don amfrayo masu tasowa) a cikin irin shuka. Tsire-tsire na monocotyledonous suna da alaƙa da samun ganye masu kama da juna, sassan furanni a cikin nau'ikan guda uku, da tarwatsewar daurin jijiyoyin jini a cikin tushe. Misalan tsire-tsire na monocotyledonous sun haɗa da ciyawa, lilies, da orchids.