Which characteristics are present in angiosperms but not gymnosperms

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Angiosperms and gymnosperms are both seed-bearing plants with a few similarities. This is due to the fact that gymnosperms were present for at least 200 million years before the angiosperms evolved and they may have shared a common ancestor.

The main difference between angiosperms and gymnosperms is their diversity. The diversity of angiosperms is greater than the gymnosperms. The higher diversity indicated the angiosperms adapted to a wide plethora of terrestrial ecosystems. Another characteristic of angiosperms is the flowers and production of fruits.

Read on to explore the difference between angiosperms and gymnosperms.

Difference between Angiosperms and Gymnosperms

Following are the important difference between angiosperms and gymnosperms:

Which characteristics are present in angiosperms but not gymnosperms

Angiosperms Gymnosperms
 A seed is produced by flowering plants and is enclosed within an ovary A seed is produced by non-flowering plants and are unenclosed or naked.
 The lifecycle of these plants are seasonal  These plants are evergreen
 Has triploid tissue  Has haploid tissue
 Leaves are flat in shape  Leaves are scalelike and needle-like in shape
 Hardwood type  Softwood type
 Reproduction rely on animals  Reproduction rely on wind
 Reproductive system present in flowers (unisexual or bisexual)  Reproductive system present in cones and are unisexual

Angiosperms

The word angiosperm is derived from Greek, which translates to a “container.” As the name suggests, the angiosperms are vascular plants, which bears seeds in fruits or mature ovaries. Angiosperm forms flower that carries reproductive organs and fruits. These plants are more adaptive to the terrestrial habitat and have a very wide distribution, around 250000 species have been identified to date.

Angiosperm Examples

Fruits trees including Mango, Apple, Banana, Peach, Cherry, Orange, and Pear often shows flowers before they bear fruits and the pollination process is generally carried out by agents such as bees.
Grains including rice, corn, and wheat are also examples of Angiosperm. In these plants, the pollination process is carried out by the wind. Other examples of Angiosperms include roses, lilies, Broccoli, kale, Petunias, Eggplant, Tomato, Peppers and sugarcanes.

Main Article: Angiosperms

Gymnosperms

Gymnosperms are other types of plant that bear seeds directly on sporophylls without covering. As the name suggests the gymnosperms are vascular plants of the Kingdom Plantae which bear naked seeds. There are very fewer species of gymnosperms, few examples of these plants are cypress, Gnetum, pine, spruce, redwood, ginkgo, cycads, juniper, fir, and Welwitschia.

The main reason for being very fewer species is the lack of protection of seeds. The seeds are naked and unprotected when released. They need to get into the ground quickly to take root or they will be damaged by animals, weather conditions or any other factors.

Main Article: Gymnosperms

Learn more about the Angiosperms and gymnosperms, examples, the differences between angiosperms and gymnosperms, and other related topics @ BYJU’S Biology

Which characteristics are present in angiosperms but not gymnosperms

Technically, gymnosperms are robust and can survive in a variety of habitats. However, angiosperms have two novel features – fruit and flowers. The fruits aid in dispersing seeds while the flowers provide protection for the ovule. Hence, angiosperms are considered better than gymnosperms.

The female reproductive organ in a gymnosperm is the cone and the male reproductive part is the pollen.

Which characteristics are present in angiosperms but not gymnosperms

Figure 1. (a) Angiosperms are flowering plants, and include grasses, herbs, shrubs and most deciduous trees, while (b) gymnosperms are conifers. Both produce seeds but have different reproductive strategies. (credit a: modification of work by Wendy Cutler; credit b: modification of work by Lews Castle UHI)

Gymnosperm reproduction differs from that of angiosperms in several ways (Figure 1). In angiosperms, the female gametophyte exists in an enclosed structure—the ovule—which is within the ovary; in gymnosperms, the female gametophyte is present on exposed bracts of the female cone. Double fertilization is a key event in the lifecycle of angiosperms, but is completely absent in gymnosperms. The male and female gametophyte structures are present on separate male and female cones in gymnosperms, whereas in angiosperms, they are a part of the flower. Lastly, wind plays an important role in pollination in gymnosperms because pollen is blown by the wind to land on the female cones. Although many angiosperms are also wind-pollinated, animal pollination is more common.

Watch this video to see an animation of the double fertilization process of angiosperms.


The flower contains the reproductive structures of a plant. All complete flowers contain four whorls: the calyx, corolla, androecium, and gynoecium. The stamens are made up of anthers, in which pollen grains are produced, and a supportive strand called the filament. The pollen contains two cells— a generative cell and a tube cell—and is covered by two layers called the intine and the exine. The carpels, which are the female reproductive structures, consist of the stigma, style, and ovary. The female gametophyte is formed from mitotic divisions of the megaspore, forming an eight-nuclei ovule sac. This is covered by a layer known as the integument. The integument contains an opening called the micropyle, through which the pollen tube enters the embryo sac.

The diploid sporophyte of angiosperms and gymnosperms is the conspicuous and long-lived stage of the life cycle. The sporophytes differentiate specialized reproductive structures called sporangia, which are dedicated to the production of spores. The microsporangium contains microspore mother cells, which divide by meiosis to produce haploid microspores. The microspores develop into male gametophytes that are released as pollen. The megasporangium contains megaspore mother cells, which divide by meiosis to produce haploid megaspores. A megaspore develops into a female gametophyte containing a haploid egg. A new diploid sporophyte is formed when a male gamete from a pollen grain enters the ovule sac and fertilizes this egg.

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Angiosperms and gymnosperms are the two major groups of vascular seed plants. Angiosperms, which are flowering plants, are the largest and most diverse group within the kingdom Plantae. With around 300,000 species, they represent approximately 80 percent of all the known green plants now living. Gymnosperms are a smaller, more ancient group, and it consists of plants that produce “naked seeds” (seeds that are not protected by a fruit). There are more than 1,000 species of gymnosperms still found on Earth.

The key difference between angiosperms and gymnosperms is how their seeds are developed. The seeds of angiosperms develop in the ovaries of flowers and are surrounded by a protective fruit. Flowers can be unisexual (e.g., male flowers and female flowers) or bisexual (the flower has both male and female parts). Gymnosperm seeds are usually formed in unisexual cones, known as strobili, and the plants lack fruits and flowers. Both groups use pollen to facilitate fertilization, though angiosperms have an incredible diversity of pollination strategies that are not found among the gymnosperms.

While angiosperms have an enormous variety of body types and forms, ranging from annual herbs to climbing vines to massive trees, gymnosperms are largely woody trees and shrubs. Gnetum is the only gymnosperm genus with climbing vines. As vascular plants, both groups contain xylem and phloem. All but the most ancient angiosperms contain conducting tissues known as vessels, while gymnosperms (with the exception of Gnetum) do not.

Many ecological niches are filled only by angiosperms. For example, carnivorous plants, submerged aquatic plants, and parasitic plants (with one possible exception) are all flowering plants. Additionally, the vast majority of plants consumed by humans for food are angiosperms, though the seeds of some gymnosperms, such as ginkgo and pine nuts, are of local importance in some places.

Which characteristics are present in angiosperms but not gymnosperms
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Which characteristics are present in angiosperms but not gymnosperms

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