Flowering plants are the most diverse and recent group of land plants, with ancestors dating back 130 million years. In part, they owe their diversity of more than 300,000 species to the evolution of flowers and fruits. Because they reproduce sexually, flowering plants make female and male sex cells. A flower is a fancy container for sex cells, and a fruit is a fancy container for seeds (after fertilization). Many flowers attract animal pollinators by giving nectar rewards. When a pollinator travels from flower to flower in search of nectar, it transfers pollen, enabling sexual reproduction of the plants. Flowering plants often have specific features such as flower shape and color to attract pollinators. Bright blue flowers tend to attract bees, yellows attract butterflies, and reds attract hummingbirds. Flowers pollinated at night by moths and bats are usually white with strong scents. Natural selection for showy flowers with sweet nectar has acted in tandem with natural selection for capable pollinators for millions of years in a process called coevolution. Flowering plants also owe their success to coevolution for dispersal of their seeds enclosed in fruits. For example fleshy fruits have evolved to attract humans and other animals that will eat them and drop the unharmed seeds elsewhere.

Monocots begin their lives nourished by a single seed leaf (cotyledon). The leaf provides nutrients to the developing seed until it grows its first true leaves that can photosynthesize to make food. The true leaves are larger with parallel veins running from stem to tip. Monocots are herbaceous plants that typically don't grow large, but they are economically significant. Grasses are monocots that dominate grassland ecosystems such as prairies, and they are the source of grains such as rice, wheat, and corn that provide most of the world's food. Some monocots grow into trees sturdy enough to supply building materials, such as bamboo and palms. Many important tropical fruits, including bananas, coconuts, and pineapples, are from monocots. Some monocots in seasonal climates have evolved underground food storage organs such as bulbs to survive cold or dry conditions. The first flowers to bloom in the spring, such as daffodils and crocuses, are monocots from bulbs or bulb-like corms. Orchids are the most diverse group of monocots with over 22,000 species that are known for their beautiful flowers and relationships with insect pollinators.