LECTURE 19 - GYMNOSPERMS

I. Introduction [For a detailed review of the Plant Kingdom, see the site maintained by Cardillo
& Samuels; see also an historical review of the kingdoms and an overall view of them.]

A. Gymnosperms [REQUIRED READING] (Pinophyta; sometimes called Coniferophyta or

less commonly Gymnospermae), plants with seeds that are not enclosed within a fruit,
derive their name from the Greek words gymnos (naked) and sperma (seed). In this plant
group, the seeds are produced on the open surface of a scale. Unlike flowering plants, the
gymnosperms do not form true flowers or fruits.
B. Examples of gymnosperms include cycads, ginkgo, conifers and gnetops.

II. Evolution

A. Evolved from fern-like ancestors.

B. Evolutionary advancements over the ferns:
1. Seeds.
2. Lack of dependence on water for fertilization (air-borne pollen).
3. Progressively more dominant sporophyte.
4. Heterospory.
5. Life Cycle
a. In the gymnosperms and the flowering plants, the sporophyte generation is
dominant with the gametophyte contained in and dependent on the
sporophyte.
6. Vascular system - check out this important review site!
a. They do have a well-developed vascular system of xylem and phloem and
have true roots, stems, and leaves.
b. The vascular tissues are significantly more efficient and effective than the
vascular systems of the seedless plants such as the ferns.
c. Gymnosperms are usually woody plants. The xylem form the wood if a
tree and the phloem tissues are part of the bark (along with cork). The
formation of wood from secondary growth is the reason that some
sporophytes can reach such large sizes.

III. Wood [REQUIRED READING]

A. Primary versus secondary growth; what secondary growth accomplishes

1. Primary growth is growth originating in the apical meristems of the shoots and
roots - results in an increase in length.
2. Secondary growth is growth derived from secondary or lateral meristems - results
in an increase in girth; example of secondary growth- trees (wood and bark)
a. Results from the activity of two lateral meristems
b. Vascular cambium- forms secondary xylem (essentially all tracheids in
gymnosperms; tracheids and vessels in angiosperms) and secondary
phloem
B. Wood = secondary xylem (conducts water & dissolved minerals); many of these cells are
dead at maturity=> only the cell walls remain
1. Inner bark = secondary phloem (conducts food)
2. Cork cambium- forms cork cells and cork parenchyma (provides protection)
3. Outer bark = cork and cork parenchyma
4. Annual rings
a. Spring wood- vessel diameter large, walls thinner
b. Late summer wood- vessel diameter small, walls thicker -- as seen here
c. Tropical trees- no annual rings since the seasons are not so different from
each other
d. Dendrochronology - detecting climatic and archaeological changes by tree
ring analysis
C. Most important group of gymnosperms- conifers
1. The largest and most familiar group of gymnosperms living today are the
conifers, which almost always bear their seeds in cones.
a. Staminate cones are the male cones and the ovulate cones are female.
b. See male and female cones of Pinus flexilis (limber pine), and immature
and mature female cones of Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (inland
Douglas fir)
2. They are mainly woody plants
3. Include:
a. the oldest living trees (bristlecone pines in eastern Nevada, 4950 years old
(now cut down)),
b. the most massive trees (Sequoiadendron giganteum, giant sequoia: up to
375 feet tall and 41 feet across),
c. the tallest living trees (Sequoia sempervirens, a redwood) at 367.5 feet
tall; in 1872 a specimen of Eucalyptus regnans from Australia were
measured by William Ferguson, a surveyor, to be around 435 feet tall;
others estimated individual trees to have been as much as 521 ft but such
reports are generally discounted
4. While at least some representatives are found worldwide, conifers are mostly trees
of temperate to extremely cold regions. Conifers demonstrate remarkable
adaptations to harsh climates where little liquid water is available for much of the
year. For example, most conifers have tough, narrow leaves called needles that
are adapted in several ways to conserve water. Conifers also have resins which act
to protect the plant from predation.
D. Significance of gymnosperms
1. Ecological importance
a. Provide food (especially seeds) and cover/habitat for wildlife
b. Great forests prevent soil erosion
c. Reduce greenhouse gasses
E. Commercial importance
1. Lumber/paper industry- fence posts, musical instruments, pencils, cedar chests,
lawn furniture, cardboard, paper
2. Resins and turpentine
3. Ornamental plants, Christmas trees
 4. Food- pine nuts (pine seeds)
5. "Felling the Giants" by Stephen Michael Payne: A history of the redwood forest
in central California.
F. Living fossils [REQUIRED READING]

IV. FOR YOUR INFORMATION ONLY: Major groups of gymnosperms (Division

Pinophyta)

A. Subdivision Cycadophytina (cycads; often incorrectly called "Cycadicae")

1. Features
a. Life history and ecology
b. Cycads: Extant and extinct
c. All about cycads
d. Cycads and dinosaurs
B. Subdivision Ginkgoophytina (ginkgo; often incorrectly called "Ginkgoatae")
1. Features
a. Ginkgo State Park: Lots of information of ginkgo
b. History of Ginkgo and its medicinal value - a "hot" medical plant newly
rediscovered in the Western World
c. Cultivated ginkgo
C. Subdivision Pinophytina (conifers: often incorrectly called "Pinatae")
D. Subdivision Gnetophytina (gnetops: often incorrectly called "Gneticae")
1. Features
2. Examples:
a. Ephedra: Mormon tea, a medicinal plant - an ancient medicinal plant
[sorry for the commercial]
b. Gnetum
c. Welwitschia: world's most bizarre plant, found only on the Namib Desert
-- the world's oldest desert
E. Other names for the gymnosperms
1. Some consider each of the above subdivisions (or subphyla) to be distinct
divisions (or phyla), namely:
a. Cycadophyta
Ginkgophyta
Gnetophyta
2. Some consider all seed plants to form a division and call it Spermatophyta or as a
class Spermatopsida
a. Plants with vascular tissue are sometimes called Tracheophyta or
informally "tracheophytes"
b. Informally, the bryophytes and the seed plants may collectively be termed
"embryophytes"
3. Fossil gymnosperms
4. seed ferns (progymnosperms)
Seedless Vascular Plants, Gymnosperms

vascular plants - “tracheophytes” 

 completely adapted to land

 structures support body/conducting vessels >> able to grow tall
 includes seedless vascular plants, gymnosperms, angiosperms

seedless vascular plants - 

 Pterophyta - ferns, mostly in tropics

o can grow up to 24 m
o sporophyte dominates (unlike nonvascular plants)
o sori - reproductive structures, on the back of fronds
o rhizome - underground stem
o prothallus - haploid, produces gametes
 Psilophyta - whisk ferns, simplest vascular plants (no roots/leaves)
 Arthrophyta - Horsetails, under 5 ft tall
o in wet/marshy places
o used as pot scrubbers by native Americans
o stobilus - spore producing body
o elater - helps spores w/ dispersal
o bisexual gametophyte - archegonia develops before antheridia >> prevents self-
fertilization
 Lycophyta - club mosses
o has microphyll (single vein w/o gaps between petiole/stem)

seed - makes it possible for terrestrial life 

 protects embryo from drought, predator

 increases dispersal
 no need for water to reproduce
 pollination through wind, insects, mammals, birds

gymnosperms - naked seeds, rests in cones 

 includes oldest/largest trees

o Bristle Cone Pines > 4000 years old
o Giant Redwoods > 100 m
 Coniferophyta - pines, cedars, cypress, redwood
o needle-like leaves
o male cones smaller than female cones
o male cones located below female cones >> can’t self-fertilize
o takes 2 years for cones to fully form
 Cycadophyta - tropical/subtropical
o centrally-located cone
 o similar to pine life cycle
 Gnetophyta - closest to angiosperms, produces ephedrine
 Ginkgophyta - only 1 species (Ginkgo)
o flagellated sperm
o diecious - 1 sex, male/female trees
o females stink because of seed (contains butyric/isobutyric acid)