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
gymnospermous (ˌgymnoˈspermous)
adjective
gymnosperm in American English
(ˈdʒɪmnoʊˌspɜrm; ˈdʒɪmnəˌspɜrm)
noun
any of a large division (Pinophyta) of seed plants having the ovules borne on openscales, usually in cones, and usually lacking true vessels in the woody tissue, including seed ferns, cycads, conifers, and the ginkgo
see also angiosperm
Derived forms
gymnospermous (ˌgymnoˈspermous)
adjective
gymnospermy (ˈgymnoˌspermy) (ˈdʒɪmnəˌspɜrmi)
noun
Word origin
ModL gymnospermus < Gr gymnospermos: see gymno- & -sperm