noun
- the condition or quality of being a gymnosperm; the characteristic of having seeds that are not enclosed in a fruit or ovary.
Usage: botanical term; used in plant biology and taxonomy
Examples
- Gymnospermy is a defining feature of conifers, which produce naked seeds on cone scales.
- The gymnospermy of pine trees makes them distinct from flowering plants.
- Students learned about gymnospermy when studying the differences between major plant groups.
- Gymnospermy evolved long before the development of flowering plants in Earth's history.