# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hărţi zilnice privind poluarea aerului atmosferic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CLEAR AND SIMPLE overview of the classification of life. Find more free tutorials, videos and readings for the science classroom at ricochetscience.com

# data[].attributes.headline
"Angiosperms vs Gymnosperms." Diffen.com. 

# data[].attributes.subject
"Angiosperms vs Gymnosperms." Diffen.com. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Angiosperms, also called flowering plants, have seeds that are enclosed within an ovary (usually a fruit), while gymnosperms have no flowers or fruits, and have unenclosed or "naked" seeds on the surface of scales or leaves. Gymnosperm seeds are often configured as cones. The characteristics that differentiate angiosperms from gymnosperms include flowers, fruits, and endosperm in the seeds.

Comparison chart

Angiosperms

Gymnosperms

Diversity

Hundreds of millions of years ago, gymnosperms were the only kind of plant life on Earth. Between 250 and 200 million years ago, angiosperms started to evolve. Now, angiosperms are more widely distributed and populous, and can be considered the dominant plant life on the planet. Angiosperms comprise a far more diverse range of plants, with a range of 250,000 to 400,000 species. They inhabit every kind of land and aquatic environment except the most extreme habitats. Angiosperms may be dicots or monocots.

Examples of Angiosperms and Gymnosperms

Examples of angiosperms are monocots like lilies, orchids, agaves (known for agave nectar) and grasses; and dicots like roses, peas, sunflowers, oaks and maples.

Gymnosperm examples include non-flowering evergreen trees such as pine, spruce and fir.

Gymnosperm species number only in the thousands, with a little more than 1,000 extant species. They are found in desert to semi-desert habitats.

Anatomical Differences

Since gymnosperms and angiosperms are both vascular plants, they have a sporophyte-dominant life-cycle.

Tissue formation in angiosperms exceeds the amount and complexity found in gymnosperms. Angiosperms have a triploid vascular tissue, flat leaves in numerous shapes and hardwood stems. Because of the innumerable varieties of the fruit and/or flower-bearing plants, they have variegated colors and shapes of leaves, flowers and fruits.

Gymnosperms are haploid, have spiky, needle-like leaves and are softwood. Gymnosperms are "simpler" anatomically because they do not bear flowers or fruit, and although of different species, are usually only tall evergreens with brown cones.

More details about the anatomical differences between angiosperms and gymnosperms are explained in the following video:

Reproduction

Reproduction in angiosperms can be unisexual or bisexual. The gametes are spread by wind and by insect and animal pollinators attracted by their flowers. Flowers often have both female and male gametes inside them, and after fertilization, the ovules develop into a fruit.

The gametes of gymnosperms are found in cones. Fertilization is described as single; the pollen grains fall and germinate directly on the ovules. Pollen spores are spread by wind alone.

Uses

Angiosperms provide virtually all plant-based food, as well as most livestock feed. Grains, fruit, legumes, nightshades (including potatoes and tomatoes), gourds, and cabbages are all angiosperms. Other angiosperms like cotton and flax provide paper and textiles. The hardwood of angiosperms is used to make hardwood floors.

Gymnosperms from the conifer group like pine, spruce, and fir are commonly used for lumber. Other gymnosperms are processed into other products like soap, varnish, and perfumes.

References

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What's the difference between Angiosperms and Gymnosperms? Angiosperms, also called flowering plants, have seeds that are enclosed within an ovary (usually a fruit), while gymnosperms have no flowers or fruits, and have unenclosed or "naked" seeds on the surface of scales or leaves. Gymnosperm seeds are often conf...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
History of the Classification

The classification of flowering plants or angiosperms into two major groups was first published by John Ray in 1682, and later by the botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789, replacing the earlier classifications. According to this classification, flowering plants were divided onto eight major groups, the largest number of species belonging to monocots and dicots.

Seed Coats around embryo

The number of cotyledons differs in the two types of flowering plants, and forms the basis for the main classification of monocots and dicots. Cotyledons are the seed leaves of the embryo and contain nutrition for the embryo until it is able to grow leaves and produce food by the process of photosynthesis. Monocots have only one cotyledon while dicots have two.

Dicot vs Monocot Stem

The vascular system in dicots is divided into a cortex and but in monocots these distinct regions are absent.

The vascular system is scattered in monocots, with no particular arrangement. But if you take a look at the cross section of the stalk in dicots you will find the vascular bundles consist of primary bundles forming a cylinder in the centre.

Flower Parts

The number of flower parts is different in the two groups. They occur in multiples of three in monocots and in multiples of four or five in dicots.

Differences in Monocot and Dicot Leaves

Dicot leaves are dorsiventral i.e., they have two surfaces (upper and lower surface of the leaf) that differ from each other in appearance and structure. Monocot leaves are isobilateral i.e., both surfaces look the same and are structurally the same and are both exposed to the sun (usually vertically oriented).

Venation

Leaf veins are arranged either in parallel through the length of the leaf or in a reticulate arrangement throughout the leaf. In most species, monocot leaves have parallel arrangement while dicots have reticulate venation of leaves.

Stomata

Stomata are pores found in the epidermis of leaves that facilitate gas exchange, i.e., the process by which gases move passively by diffusion across a surface.

Monocot leaves have stomata on both their surfaces, but some dicots have stomata on only one surface (usually the lower one) of their leaves. Moreover stomata in monocot leaves are arranged in highly ordered rows, whereas the dicots have more of a crazy-paving of them.

Stomata are bordered by a pair of specialized guard cells that regulate the size of the stomatal opening. Monocots and dicots differ in the design of the guard cells; they are dumbbell-shaped in monocots and look like a pair of sausages in dicots.

Bulliform cells

Bulliform cells help regulate water loss. They are present on the upper surface of the leaves in some monocots. When water supply is abundant, bulliform cells become turgid and consequently the leaf straightens up, which exposes the leaf and leads to evaporation of excess water. Conversely when water is in short supply, bulliform cells shrink and the leaf curls in and becomes less susceptible to water loss through exposure.

Dicots do not have bulliform cells in their leaves.

Pollen

There is also a different type of pollen structure present in the two classes. Monocots developed from plants with a single pore or furrow in the pollen, whereas dicots developed from plants with three furrows in their pollen structure.

Roots

Roots can develop either from a main radicle or arise in clusters from the nodes in the stem, called adventitious roots. Monocots are known to have adventitious roots whereas dicots have a radicle from which a root develops. A fibrous root system, with several moderately branching roots growing from the stem, is common in monocotyledons. In contrast, dicots have a taproot system, a tapering root that grows downward and has other roots sprouting laterally from it.

Secondary growth

Secondary growth is found in dicots but absent in monocots. Secondary growth helps in the production of wood and bark in trees.

Examples of Monocots and Dicots

There are about 65,000 species of monocots. Some examples include lilies, daffodils, grains, sugarcane, banana, palm, ginger, rice, coconut, corn and onions.

There are about 250,000 species of dicots. Examples include daisies, mint, pea, tamarind, and mango.

Exceptions

There are some exceptions to this classification. Some species belonging to monocots can have characters belonging to dicots, since the two groups have a shared ancestry.

References

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What's the difference between Dicot and Monocot? Flowering plants are divided into monocots (or monocotyledons) and dicots (or dicotyledons). This comparison examines the morphological differences in the leaves, stems, flowers and fruits of monocots and dicots. Contents 1 History of...