1. Vascular Cone-bearing Plants
Conifers

2. Seed plants include cone-bearing plants and flowering plants.
Seed plants have several advantages over their seedless ancestors.
can reproduce without free-standing water, via pollination
pollination occurs when pollen meets female plant parts
seeds nourish and protect plant embryo
seeds allow plants to disperse to new places

3. Gymnosperms do not have seeds enclosed in fruit.
“Gymnosperm” comes from a Greek word meaning “naked seed”
most gymnosperms are cone-bearing and evergreen.
pollen is produced in male cones.
eggs are produced in female cones.
seeds develop on scales of female cones.

4. Cycads are gymnosperms
look like palm trees with large cones
grow in tropical areas

5. Ginkgos are gymnosperms
only one species alive today, Ginkgo biloba
grown in gardens and used in urban landscaping

6. Conifers are gymnosperms in phylum Coniferophyta.
most common gymnosperms alive today
includes pines, spruce, cedar, fir, and juniper

8. Life Cycle of a Conifer