Gymnosperms are a clade of seed-producing vascular plants characterized by ovules and seeds that are not enclosed within an ovary, instead being exposed on the surface of specialized structures such as cone scales. They include major extant lineages such as conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetophytes. Gymnosperms exhibit secondary growth, lignified tissues, and typically tracheid-based xylem, with limited or absent vessel elements in most groups. They play central roles in terrestrial ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles, and are key subjects in studies of seed plant evolution, reproductive biology, genome architecture, and adaptations to diverse environmental conditions, particularly in temperate and boreal regions.
Harvard researchers have discovered that cycads—one of the oldest living lineages of seed plants—heat up their reproductive organs to attract beetle pollinators and the insects possess infrared sensors to detect these signals.
Evolution
Dec 11, 2025
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50
Seed plants are essential as a source of food, fuel, medicine, and more. Now, a multidisciplinary team of researchers has combined deep botanical knowledge with powerful genomic technology to decode and mine the DNA of non-flowering ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Nov 13, 2025
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54
Insect-driven tree mortality is rising across Europe, according to an international study led by the Czech University of Life Sciences with participation of WSL. Conifers are hit harder, broadleaf damage declines and warm, ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 3, 2025
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Rapid height growth may positively influence fiber length in Swedish spruce wood. A case study investigated wood samples from 38-year-old Norway spruces (Picea abies) in one of Sweden's most naturally fertile forests.
Plants & Animals
Oct 6, 2025
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22
Conifers, such as pines, spruces, and firs, produce sticky resins that protect the trees from insects and pathogens. Important components of this resin are diterpenes, special natural substances that repel bark beetles and ...
Evolution
Sep 22, 2025
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71
Researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences investigated the influence of climatic factors on the anatomical traits of wood in coniferous tree species in the Hengduan ...
Ecology
Sep 8, 2025
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The endangered South African cycad Encephalartos horridus may resemble a relic from the Jurassic age, but the species itself evolved long after dinosaurs disappeared. Still, it carries a biochemical legacy inherited from ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 8, 2025
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163
In the Thuringian Forest or the Harz Mountains, dead spruce trees (Picea abies) dot the landscape like skeletons. Many have already fallen or been cut down. These dead trees serve as memorials to the effects of global warming.
Plants & Animals
Jun 24, 2025
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