Their naked condition stands in contrast to the seeds and ovules of flowering plants (angiosperm), which are enclosed within an ovary. Gymnosperm seeds develop either on the surface of scales or leaves, often modified to form cones.

Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperm and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies. Angiosperm means a plant that produces seeds within an enclosure.

Are a botanical division of small, soft that are typically 1–10 cm. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. There are approximately 12,000 Bryophyta.