The gymnosperms are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and Gnetales.

The term "gymnosperm" comes from the Greek composite word ( gymnos, "naked" and
sperma, "seed"), meaning "naked seeds", after the unenclosed condition of their seeds (called ovules in
their unfertilized state). Their naked condition stands in contrast to 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, often modified to form cones, or at the end of short stalks as in Ginkgo.
The gymnosperms and angiosperms together compose the spermatophytes or seed plants. By far the largest
group of living gymnosperms are the conifers (pines, cypresses, and relatives), followed by cycads, Gnetophytes
(Gnetum, Ephedra andWelwitschia), and Ginkgo (a single living species).
In early classification schemes, the gymnosperms (Gymnospermae) were regarded as a "natural" group. There is
conflicting evidence on the question of whether the living gymnosperms form a clade.[1][2] The fossil record of
gymnosperms includes many distinctive taxa that do not belong to the four modern groups, including seedbearing trees that have a somewhat fern-like vegetative morphology (the so-called "seed ferns"
or pteridosperms.)[3] When fossil gymnosperms such as Bennettitales, Caytonia and theglossopterids are
considered, it is clear that angiosperms are nested within a larger gymnosperm clade,
angiosperms
Angiosperms are flowering plants. Angiosperms are the biggest group in the plant kingdom. They have
true roots, stems, leaves and flowers. They also have seeds.The seeds are formed when an egg or ovule
is fertilized by pollen in the ovary. The ovary is within a flower. The flower contains the male and/or
female parts of the plant. Fruits are frequently produced from these ripened ovaries.
Angiosperms are more highly evolved that the algae, mosses, fungi and ferns. Their advanced structures
allow angiosperms to thrive on land. They have roots that hold the plant in place and take in needed
minerals and water. They have leaves that are the major food makes for the plant. They have stems that
hold the plants up and move the nutrients and water about the plant.
Angiosperms the primary food source for animals and provides oxygen for us to breathe. They provide
lumber for buildings and other objects, fibers for clothes, are the basis for many drugs, etc..
Flowers , which are the reproductive structures of an angiosperm and consist of four whorls of modified leaves (from
outside in):

Sepals (sepi = fence in) (which collectively are called the calyx), which are often small and green but are colored
like the petals in tulips and lilies, and which generally enclose the flower before it opens

Petals (petal = a leaf, spread out, flat) (which collectively are called the corolla) which are often brightly colored
to attract pollinators (insects, birds, etc.) and may be very simple to highly modified

Stamens (stam(en) = anything standing upright, a thread), the male reproductive organs (they make microspores
which turn into male gametophytes), which consist of a stalk (the filament) and a tip (the anther) where the
microspores

are

produced

and

turn

into

pollen

(anthe =

flower)

The stamen is the male reproductive structure (the microsporophyll), and the anther is the microsporangium.
Microspores are produced and grow into 1n male gametophytes (= pollen) within the anther.
Mature gametophytes are released and transferred to the stigma of the pistil by apollinator (wind, insects, birds,
etc.), and this process is referred to as pollination. Each pollen grain grows a pollen tube into the ovary and its two
sperm nuclei travel down the tube to a female gametophyte.

Pistil (note spelling) or carpel (carpo = a fruit), which consists of:

Ovary (ova, ovi = egg)
the bottom end where seeds are produced
Style (styl, stylo = a pillar, stake, column)
the stalk portion
Stigma (stigma = spot)
the outer, sticky tip where pollen sticks when it lands or is placed there