Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness-- Acrogymnosperms

The term "Acrogymnosperm" refers to the currently living lineages of the older term "gymnosperm", which also included extinct lineages that were not monophyletic. The Acrogymnosperms do not have petals or flowers, but they do produce seeds. The name "Acrogymnosperm" means "naked seed," and refers to fact that acrogymnosperms bear their seeds on the margins of modified leaves or cones. There are no sealed carpels, like those that define the angiosperms. Although acrogymnosperms do have ovules, they do not have ovaries, pistils or stamens. Since the term "fruit" refers to a mature ovary, acrogymnosperms do not in botanical usage have "fruit," and the reproductive structures are referred to as cones. To differentiate between the two kinds of cones, they are sometimes referred to as "ovulate cones" and "pollen cones."