In traditional classifications, one of the two classes of flowering plants (see anthophyta), distinguished by having two seed leaves (cotyledons) within the seed. The dicotyledons usually have leaf veins in the form of a net, a ring of vascular bundles in the stem, and flower parts in fours or fives or multiples of these. Dicotyledons include many food plants (e.g. potatoes, peas, beans), ornamentals (e.g. roses, ivies, honeysuckles), and hardwood trees (e.g. oaks, limes, beeches). Dicots are no longer considered a taxonomically valid group. See eudicot. Compare monocotyledoneae.