What is a gymnosperm?

The word “Gymnosperm” comes from the Greek words “gymnos”(naked) and “sperma”(seed), hence known as “Naked seeds.” Gymnosperms are the seed-producing plants, but unlike angiosperms, they produce seeds without fruits. These plants develop on the surface of scales or leaves, or at the end of stalks forming a cone-like structure.

Gymnosperms belong to kingdom ‘Plantae‘ and sub-kingdom ‘Embryophyta’. The fossil evidence suggested that they originated during the Paleozoic era, about 390 million years ago. They can be represented by 900 species.

Basically, gymnosperms are plants in which the ovules are not enclosed within the ovary wall, unlike the angiosperms. It remains exposed before and after fertilization, and before developing into a seed. The stem of gymnosperms can be branched or unbranched. The thick cuticle, needle-like leaves, and sunken stomata reduce the rate of water loss in these plants.

The family of gymnosperms consist of conifers, the cycads, the gnetophytes, and the species of Gynkgophyta division and Ginkgo biloba.