gymnosperm
a vascular plant having seeds that are not enclosed in an ovary; a conifer or cycad.
Origin of gymnosperm
1Other words from gymnosperm
- gym·no·sperm·ism, noun
- Compare angiosperm.
Words Nearby gymnosperm
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for gymnosperm
/ (ˈdʒɪmnəʊˌspɜːm, ˈɡɪm-) /
any seed-bearing plant in which the ovules are borne naked on the surface of the megasporophylls, which are often arranged in cones. Gymnosperms, which include conifers and cycads, are traditionally classified in the division Gymnospermae but in modern classifications are split into separate phyla: Compare angiosperm
Derived forms of gymnosperm
- gymnospermous, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for gymnosperm
[ jĭm′nə-spûrm′ ]
Any of a group of seed-bearing plants whose ovules are not enclosed in an ovary, but are exposed on the surface of sporophylls or similar structures. Each ovule may contain several eggs, all of which may be fertilized and start to develop in a process known as polyembryony. In most seeds, however, only a single embryo survives. The reproductive structures of many gymnosperms are arranged in cones. The gymnosperms do not form a distinct monophyletic grouping, but simply include all the seed-bearing plants that are not angiosperms. In addition to several extinct groups, there are four very diverse living gymnosperm phyla: the conifers, the cycads, the ginkgo (surviving in a single species), and the gnetophytes. Compare angiosperm. See more at seed-bearing plant.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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