gymnosperm Bot.
(ˈdʒɪmnəspɜːm)
[ad. mod.L. gymnosperm-us, ad. Gr. γυµνόσπερµ-ος, f. γυµνό-ς naked + σπέρµ-α seed, sperm. Cf. F. gymnosperme.]
A plant which has naked seeds, as the pine, hemlock fir, etc.; one of the Gymnospermæ, a class of exogenous plants so characterized, embracing the orders Cycadaceæ, Coniferæ, and Gnetaceæ.
| [1682 Ray Method. Plant. (1733) 193 Gymnosperma planta. Quæ semen nudum fert. 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 245 Gymnospermæ are known from all other Vasculares by the vessels of their wood having large apparent perforations.] 1838 Penny Cycl. XI. 510/1 Gymnosperms, one of the five divisions under which the vegetable kingdom is now classified. 1863 Lyell Antiq. Man xx. 398 The gymnosperms or coniferous and cycadeous plants abound in all strata. 1885 G. L. Goodale Physiol. Bot. (1892) 288 Certain Gymnosperms..develop a bright green color in the deepest darkness. |