Clade of non-flowering, naked-seeded vascular plants
Not to be confused with the flowering plant genera Gymnosperma and Gymnospermium.
Gymnosperm
Temporal range: Carboniferous–Present
PreꞒ
Ꞓ
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Various gymnosperms.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
Clade:
Tracheophytes
Clade:
Spermatophytes
Clade:
Gymnospermae
Living orders[1]
Cycadopsida
Cycadales
Ginkgoopsida
Ginkgoales
Pinopsida
Cupressidae
Araucariales
Cupressales
Pinidae
Pinales
Gnetidae
Ephedrales
Welwitschiales
Gnetales
The gymnosperms (/ˈdʒɪmnəˌspɜːrmz,-noʊ-/ⓘJIM-nə-spurmz, -noh-; lit.'revealed seeds') are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term gymnosperm comes from the composite word in Greek: γυμνόσπερμος (γυμνός, gymnos, 'naked' and σπέρμα, sperma, 'seed'), literally meaning 'naked seeds'. The name is based on the unenclosed condition of their seeds (called ovules in their unfertilized state). The non-encased condition of their seeds contrasts with the seeds and ovules of flowering plants (angiosperms), which are enclosed within an ovary. Gymnosperm seeds develop either on the surface of scales or leaves, which are often modified to form cones, or on their own as in yew, Torreya, Ginkgo.[2] Gymnosperm lifecycles involve alternation of generations. They have a dominant diploid sporophyte phase and a reduced haploid gametophyte phase which is dependent on the sporophytic phase. The term "gymnosperm" is often used in paleobotany to refer to (the paraphyletic group of) all non-angiosperm seed plants. In that case, to specify the modern monophyletic group of gymnosperms, the term Acrogymnospermae is sometimes used.
The gymnosperms and angiosperms together constitute the spermatophytes or seed plants. The spermatophytes are subdivided into five divisions, the angiosperms and four divisions of gymnosperms: the Cycadophyta, Ginkgophyta, Gnetophyta, and Pinophyta (also known as Coniferophyta). Newer classification place the gnetophytes among the conifers.[3] Numerous extinct seed plant groups are recognised including those considered pteridosperms/seed ferns, as well other groups like the Bennettitales.[4]
By far the largest group of living gymnosperms are the conifers (pines, cypresses, and relatives), followed by cycads, gnetophytes (Gnetum, Ephedra and Welwitschia), and Ginkgo biloba (a single living species). About 65% of gymnosperms are dioecious,[5] but conifers are almost all monoecious.[6]
Some genera have mycorrhiza, fungal associations with roots (Pinus), while in some others (Cycas) small specialised roots called coralloid roots are associated with nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria.
^Cite error: The named reference Phylogenomics of gymnosperms was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Gymnosperms on The Plant List". Theplantlist.org. Archived from the original on 2013-08-24. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
^Yang, Yong; Ferguson, David Kay; Liu, Bing; Mao, Kang-Shan; Gao, Lian-Ming; Zhang, Shou-Zhou; Wan, Tao; Rushforth, Keith; Zhang, Zhi-Xiang (2022-07-01). "Recent advances on phylogenomics of gymnosperms and a new classification". Plant Diversity. 44 (4): 340–350. Bibcode:2022PlDiv..44..340Y. doi:10.1016/j.pld.2022.05.003. ISSN 2468-2659. PMC 9363647. PMID 35967253.
^Raven, P.H. (2013). Biology of Plants. New York: W.H. Freeman and Co.
^Walas, Łukasz; Mandryk, Wojciech; Thomas, Peter A.; Tyrała-Wierucka, Żanna; Iszkuło, Grzegorz (2018-09-01). "Sexual systems in gymnosperms: A review". Basic and Applied Ecology. 31: 1–9. Bibcode:2018BApEc..31....1W. doi:10.1016/j.baae.2018.05.009. ISSN 1439-1791. S2CID 90740232.
^Walas Ł, Mandryk W, Thomas PA, Tyrała-Wierucka Ż, Iszkuło G (2018). "Sexual systems in gymnosperms: A review" (PDF). Basic and Applied Ecology. 31: 1–9. Bibcode:2018BApEc..31....1W. doi:10.1016/j.baae.2018.05.009. S2CID 90740232.
The gymnosperms (/ˈdʒɪmnəˌspɜːrmz, -noʊ-/ JIM-nə-spurmz, -noh-; lit. 'revealed seeds') are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads...
vary widely despite still being considered part of the gametophyte. In gymnosperms, the male gametophytes are produced inside microspores within the microsporangia...
of the familiar land plants, including the flowering plants and the gymnosperms, but not ferns, mosses, or algae. The term phanerogam or phanerogamae...
Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of gymnosperms and of archosaurian reptiles, such as the dinosaurs; a hot greenhouse...
Ginkgoopsida is a proposed class of gymnosperms defined by Sergei V. Meyen in 1984 to encompass Ginkgoales (which contains the living Ginkgo) alongside...
referred to as the subclass Dicotyledons into two tribes, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms. In the gymnosperms (or Gymnospermae) Lindley included two orders, the...
Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main differences...
secondary growth. All gymnosperms are woody plants. Their stems are similar in structure to woody dicots except that most gymnosperms produce only tracheids...
that itself is surrounded by a fleshy fruit (e.g. almonds, walnuts); Gymnosperm seeds: naked seeds, with no enclosure (e.g. pine nuts); Angiosperm: seeds...
Angiosperms are distinguished from the other seed-producing plants, the gymnosperms, by having flowers, xylem consisting of vessel elements instead of tracheids...
(which comes from angiosperm trees) contrasts with softwood (which is from gymnosperm trees). Hardwoods are produced by angiosperm trees that reproduce by flowers...
J. "Sequoia sempervirens". Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved 2017-12-30. Earle, Christopher J. "Agathis australis". Gymnosperm Database. "Giant tree stats"...
of tree species are angiosperms or hardwoods; of the rest, many are gymnosperms or softwoods. Trees tend to be long-lived, some reaching several thousand...
arizonica (Arizona pine, pino de Arizona) description – I The Gymnosperm Database". The Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved 9 August 2018. Earle, Christopher J....
The gymnosperms consist of five orders of seed plants: Cupressales, Cycadales, Ginkgoales, Gnetales and Pinales. They developed more than 350 million...
placentae are on inner surfaces of multilocular ovary (e.g. Nymphaea) In gymnosperms such as conifers, ovules are borne on the surface of an ovuliferous (ovule-bearing)...
(hornworts, liverworts, mosses, lycophytes, ferns, conifers and other gymnosperms, and flowering plants). A definition based on genomes includes the Viridiplantae...
applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi,...
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (/pɪˈnɒfɪtə, ˈpaɪnoʊfaɪtə/)...
considered the subclass Gnetidae or order Gnetales), grouped within the gymnosperms (which also includes conifers, cycads, and ginkgos), that consists of...
are China, Russia, North Korea, Pakistan and Afghanistan. As pines are gymnosperms, not angiosperms (flowering plants), pine nuts are not "true nuts"; they...
species provide edible seeds; most are angiosperms, while a few are gymnosperms. As a global food source, the most important edible seeds by weight are...
coincident with the decline and extinction of previously widespread gymnosperm groups. The Cretaceous (along with the Mesozoic) ended with the Cretaceous–Paleogene...
ˈɡɪŋkɡoʊ/ GINK-oh, -goh), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of gymnosperm tree native to East Asia. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales...
ferns, but they are not closely related to either group. Cycads are gymnosperms (naked-seeded), meaning their unfertilized seeds are open to the air...
Global Information
