© Harald Biebel/Fotolia Angiosperms and gymnosperms are the two primary families of seed plants with a circulatory system. Angiosperms, which are blooming plants, are the kingdom Plantae’s biggest and most diversified group. With about 300,000 species, they constitute nearly 80% of all known green plant species.
The smaller, more ancient group of plants known as gymnosperms develop “bare seeds” (seeds that are not protected by a fruit). There are currently about 1,000 species of gymnosperms on Earth. The primary distinction between angiosperms and gymnosperms is the development of their seeds. Angiosperm seeds grow in the ovaries of flowers and are enclosed by a protective fruit.
Flowers can be either unisexual (e.g., male and female) or bisexual (the flower has both male and female parts). The seeds of gymnosperms are often produced in unisexual cones known as strobili, and the plants lack fruits and flowers. Both angiosperms and gymnosperms employ pollen to assist fertilization, but angiosperms have a vast array of pollination techniques that gymnosperms lack.
- Unlike angiosperms, which include annual herbs, climbing vines, and huge trees, gymnosperms are mostly composed of woody trees and shrubs.
- The only gymnosperm genus with climbing vines is Gnetum.
- Both groupings, being vascular plants, have xylem and phloem.
- Save for the most ancient angiosperms, all angiosperms include conducting tissues known as vessels, whereas gymnosperms (except for Gnetum) do not.
Numerous ecological niches are exclusively occupied by angiosperms. Flowering plants include carnivorous plants, submerged aquatic plants, and parasitic plants, with one probable exception. In addition, the great majority of plants used by humans for food are angiosperms, but the seeds of some gymnosperms, such as ginkgo and pine nuts, are important in particular regions.
How do you refer to a plant that produces seeds?
| Seed plants Temporal range: Famennian–Present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N | |
|---|---|
| Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris, a member of the Pinophyta | |
| Sycamore maple, Acer pseudoplatanus, a member of the Eudicots | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade : | Tracheophytes |
| Clade : | Spermatophytes |
| Divisions | |
| Gymnospermae Cycadophyta Ginkgophyta Pinophyta Gnetophyta Bennettitales † Angiospermae Pteridospermatophyta † | |
| Synonyms | |
| Phanerogamae Phaenogamae |
A spermatophyte (lit.’seed-bearing plants’; from Ancient Greek (spérmatos)’seed’ and v (phytón) ‘plant’) is any plant that produces seeds, thus the alternate term seed plant. Spermatophytes are a subgroup of embryophytes, also known as land plants. The name phanerogams or phanerogamae is derived from the Greek word (phanerós), which means “transparent,” in contrast to the cryptogamae (from Ancient Greek (kruptós) “hidden”), and the suffix (gamé), which means “to wed.” These words separated cryptogamous plants from those with obvious sexual organs (phanerogamae).
Gymnosperms produce uncovered or naked seeds, whereas angiosperms cover their seeds with fruits.
Have seeds protective coatings?
Structure of Seeds – The exterior coating of a seed is known as the seed coat. The seed coat protects the embryo from damage and dehydration. Seed coatings can be thin and delicate, as in the case of beans, or thick and brittle, as in the case of locust or coconut seeds.
Endosperm, a temporary food source, is packed around the embryo as cotyledons or seed leaves, which are specialized leaves. Typically, they are the first portions to appear as a seed germinates. The classification of plants is based on the number of seed leaves (cotyledons) present in the seed. Monocots include grasses and other plants with a single cotyledon.
Dicotyledonous plants have two cotyledons. How does a seed develop? Click here to investigate the germination process.
