seed plant

seed plant
a seed-bearing plant; spermatophyte.
[1700-10]

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Any of the flowering plants (angiosperms) and the conifers and related plants (gymnosperms).

Seed plants share many features with ferns, including the presence of vascular tissue (see xylem and phloem), but unlike ferns, they have stems that branch sideways and vascular tissue that is arranged in strands (bundles) around the core. Seed plants have generally more complex plant bodies and reproduce via seeds. As the main dispersal unit of seed plants, the seed represents a significant improvement over the spore, with its limited capacity for survival. Seed plants also differ from ferns in having gametophytes that are reduced in size and are embedded in the sporophytes (and thus are less vulnerable to environmental stress). Another land-based adaptation of seed plants is pollen dispersed by wind or animals. The dispersal of pollen, in addition to dispersal of seeds, promotes genetic recombination and distribution of the species over a wide geographic area.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • seed-plant — seedˈ plant noun 1. A spermatophyte or flowering plant 2. A plant grown from or for seed • • • Main Entry: ↑seed …   Useful english dictionary

  • seed plant — seed′ plant n. pln a seed bearing plant; spermatophyte • Etymology: 1700–10 …   From formal English to slang

  • seed plant — n. any plant bearing seeds, as an angiosperm or a gymnosperm …   English World dictionary

  • seed plant — noun plant that reproduces by means of seeds not spores • Syn: ↑spermatophyte, ↑phanerogam • Hypernyms: ↑vascular plant, ↑tracheophyte • Hyponyms: ↑seedling, ↑balsam, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • seed plant — /ˈsid plænt/ (say seed plant) noun a seed bearing plant; a spermatophyte …  

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  • seed plant — plant which produces seeds …   English contemporary dictionary

  • seed plant — noun A plant which reproduces by breading seeds in the wide sense of the term, including spores etc. The typical (higher) seed plants are called Spermatophyta See Also: seedcake, seedcase, seed coat, seedeater, seeder, seed fern, seedful …   Wiktionary

  • seed plant — noun Date: 1707 a plant that bears seeds; specifically spermatophyte …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • plant — plantable, adj. plantless, adj. plantlike, adj. /plant, plahnt/, n. 1. any member of the kingdom Plantae, comprising multicellular organisms that typically produce their own food from inorganic matter by the process of photosynthesis and that… …   Universalium

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