Dioecious

Flowers unisexual with male and female flowers on different plants

What Is the Difference Between Dioecious and Monoecious Plants?

Dioecious plants house the male and female flowers on different plants. So not only does the plant have separate male/female flowers, they have male plants (with only male flowers) and female plants (with only female flowers). Hollies and asparagus are dioecious. Since only the female plants can produce the fruit, hollies must have a male plant and a female plant in close proximity. Male holly plants are often given masculine names like 'Southern Gentleman', 'Jim Dandy', or 'Blue Prince', so they are easy to recognize. In the landscape, one or two male hollies are often tucked behind the female hollies to ensure pollination and fruit set and to hide the male plants that don't produce the showy fruit.

The male cultivars of asparagus are more popular with gardeners than the females. This is because the male spears are larger, they don't waste any effort on fruit production. Male plants can also be neater. Male ash trees don't produce the "canoe paddle-like" fruits like the females. Male trees of Kentucky Coffeetree, Cork Tree, and Ginkgo are popular for the same reason - no messy fruit!

So knowing the difference between plants with perfect, monoecious, and dioecious flowers can be important when gardening.