Part of BBG’s Plant Family Collection, the monocot border highlights plants that have one cotyledon (the first leaf produced on a seedling). Monocots generally have leaves with parallel veins and flower parts in threes or multiples of three—three or six petals and three or six stamens (the male parts of the flower), for example. There are almost 60,000 plant species categorized as monocots, including orchids, grasses, onions, bananas, lilies, irises, and arums.
Curator Mike Mauro
Michael Mauro is the curator of the north section of BBG's Plant Family Collection. He holds an AS degree in engineering from CUNY and a BBG Certificate in Horticulture and has more than 20 years' experience at BBG, Old Westbury Gardens, and private gardens. He specializes in shade and woodland gardening and also teaches Urban Garden Maintenance and Woody Plant Identification in BBG’s Horticulture Certificate Program. Michael especially enjoys interacting with Garden visitors: “I like to watch people's reactions to the Monocot Border and answering visitors' gardening questions.”