Definitions for: Spermatophyta

[n] seed plants; comprises the Angiospermae (or Magnoliophyta) and Gymnospermae (or Gymnospermophyta); in some classification systems Spermatophyta is coordinate with Pteridophyta (spore producing plants having vascular tissue and roots) and Bryophyta (spore producing plants lacking vascular tissue and roots)

Webster (1913) Definition: Sper`ma*toph"y*ta, n. pl. [NL.; spermato- + Gr.
? plant.] (Bot.)
A phylum embracing the highest plants, or those that produce
seeds; the seed plants, or flowering plants. They form the
most numerous group, including over 120,000 species. In
general, the group is characterized by the marked development
of the sporophyte, with great differentiation of its parts
(root, stem, leaves, flowers, etc.); by the extreme reduction
of the gametophyte; and by the development of seeds. All the
Spermatophyta are heterosporous; fertilization of the egg
cell is either through a

pollen tube emitted by the microspore or (in a few
gymnosperms) by spermatozoids.

Note: The phrase ``flowering plants'' is less distinctive
than ``seed plants,'' since the conifers, grasses,
sedges, oaks, etc., do not produce flowers in the
popular sense. For this reason the terms Anthrophyta,
Ph[ae]nogamia, and Panerogamia have been superseded
as names of the phylum by Spermatophyta.

Synonyms: division Spermatophyta

See Also: Angiospermae, Anthophyta, class Angiospermae, class Gymnospermae, division, division Anthophyta, division Gymnospermophyta, division Magnoliophyta, Gymnospermae, Gymnospermophyta, kingdom Plantae, Magnoliophyta, plant kingdom, Plantae

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