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Also known as: Spermatophyta, phaenogam, phanerogam, spermatophyte
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
pinyon pine
Category: Animals & Nature
- Also called:
- spermatophyte, phanerogam, or phaenogam
- Key People:
- George Bentham
- Charles Joseph Chamberlain
- Related Topics:
- angiosperm
- plant
- gymnosperm
- vascular plant
seed plant, any of the more than 300,000 species of seed-bearing vascular plants. Although the taxonomic division Spermatophyta is no longer accepted, the term spermatophyte is used to refer collectively to the angiosperms (flowering plants) and gymnosperms (conifers, cycads, and allies). See also seed.
Gymnosperms were the firstseedplants to have evolved. The earliest seedlike bodies are found in rocks of the Upper Devonian Series (about 382.7 million to 358.9 million years ago), and the earliest gymnospermous seed plants are the extinct seed ferns, which originated in theDevonian Periodand were widespread by theCarboniferous Period (about 358.9 million to 298.9 million years ago).The first cycads arose in thePermian Period(298.9 million to 251.9 million years ago), and conifersappeared first toward the end of the Carboniferous Period.The earliest flowering plants are known from theEarlyCretaceousEpoch (about 145 million to 100.5 million years ago), though angiosperms may have evolved much earlier.
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.
