Definition of "gymnosperm" [gym•no•sperm]

• A plant, such as a cycad or conifer, whose seeds are not enclosed within an ovary. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "There are 794 angiosperm genera, 77% of China's total angiosperm species, 24 gymnosperm, 70 pteridophyte and 102 bryophyte genera."
• "The receptive part of the gymnosperm ovule is called the micropyle."
• "The famous relict gymnosperm Welwitschia mirabilis is also found throughout the ecoregion, and it is often the most conspicuous feature of the vegetation, scattered about the arid plains at intervals of 50 to 100 m."