"The king's cheese is half wasted in parings;
but no matter, 'tis made of the people's milk."

—Poor Richard's Almanack

 

Dioecious

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In gardening, a dioecious plant is one where male and female reproductive systems are always found on separate plants.

Most plants are monoecious, meaning that a single plant produces both male and female reproductive systems. Many monoecious plants are self-fertile, although most produce more seed when cross-fertilized.

Care should be taken when planting dioecious plants to ensure that appropriate sexes are planted. In some cases, this means that at least one male must be planted to pollinate the crop; in others, such as asparagus and hops, only one sex is ordinarily planted because only one court produces the edible parts and fertilization is not wanted or needed.