Gymnosperm Life Cycle

What is the primary difference between angiosperms and gymnosperms?

What is the term for plants that reproduce using seeds?

What is the haploid stage of a gymnosperm's life cycle represented by?

What is the purpose of cones in gymnosperms?

What do angiosperms and gymnosperms have in common?

What is the term for the life stage of a gymnosperm that contains two sets of chromosomes?

What is the term for the process by which pollen from a stamen fertilizes an ovule in an ovary?

What is the function of the male cone in a pine tree?

What is the result of meiosis in a sporophyte?

What is the term for the adult, sexually reproductive phase of a gymnosperm?

What is the difference between gymnosperm seeds and angiosperm seeds?

What is the process by which a megaspore develops into a megagametophyte?

What is the term for the female gametes produced by a megagametophyte?

What is the purpose of the wind in the life cycle of a gymnosperm?

What is the term for the diploid stage of a gymnosperm?

Gymnosperm Life Cycle

Plants that reproduce using seeds are categorized into angiosperms and gymnosperms.
Angiosperms are flowering plants, while gymnosperms are referred to as plants with naked seeds.

Alternating Generations

Gymnosperms alternate between two life stages: haploid (one set of chromosomes) and diploid (two sets of chromosomes).
Haploid stage consists of male and female gametophytes (sex cells).
Diploid stage is represented by the adult tree after gametophytes have joined and developed.

Gymnosperm Reproduction

The pinecone is the female reproductive structure of a gymnosperm.
Pollen grains contain one set of the tree's chromosomal information and are carried by wind to the female structure.
Fertilization occurs when pollen meets the female gametophyte, resulting in a diploid seed.

Gymnosperm Sporophytes

The adult tree represents the diploid stage of the conifer life cycle of a gymnosperm and is referred to as the sporophyte.
Sporophytes produce haploid gametophytes through meiosis.
Megagametophytes produce female gametes (eggs), while microgametophytes produce male gametes (sperm).

Gymnosperm Fertilization Process

Male cones contain microspores (pollen grains) that produce male gametes.
Female cones contain megaspores that produce eggs.
Fertilization occurs when microgametophyte and megagametophyte meet, resulting in a diploid embryo.

Gymnosperm Seeds

Gymnosperm seeds are naked and lack a protective coating like angiosperm seeds.
Seeds develop under the scale of the female cone after fertilization.

Gymnosperm Life Cycle Diagram

The life cycle of a gymnosperm involves multiple stages: adult sporophyte, megasporophyte, microsporophyte, meiosis, megaspores, microspores, gametophytes, fertilization, and the development of a new sporophyte.

Learn about the life cycle of gymnosperms, a type of plant that reproduces using seeds without a fruit or coating. Compare and contrast with angiosperms.