Gymnosperms
The Cones and Their Purpose:
Gymnosperms are structures (cones) that are meant to contain seeds for the next generation of plants. The seeds are located directly on the surface of the cones and that's what makes Gymnosperms so special.
Western Red Cedar ConesHere we have the Western Red Cedar cones in which very much resemble a waxy-looking flower.
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Douglas Fir ConesHere we have the Douglas Fir cones which look like a long cone with small little "tails" peaking out the cone's layers.
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Western Hemlock ConesHere we have the Western Hemlock cones which are a stubbier cone that have larger layers and a shorter body.
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Reproduction:
Gymnosperms go through the Alteration of generation process like most plants do, and for this cycle, the cones are main key to reproduction.
Roots, Leaves, Stems, Seeds, Pollen, Vascular Tissue, Oh my!
Finally an organism that has it all! Roots for absorbing and extracting nutrients from the soil, Leaves for collecting light energy for photosynthesis and Stems to support the vessel and keep it sturdy and upright! These were some pretty exciting things to evolve but the most interesting part of this evolutionary plant is it's reproductive system and it's newly developed vascular system. Pollen, or the "sperm" for these plants are these dust-like structures that carry their genetic code within them. The way they are transported from the male Gametophyte to the female Gametophyte is by wind or small animal! No more water to carry about the reproductive system?! How exciting! As for the newly developed vascular system, we now have a whole system within the plant to move about food, water and photosynthesized energy!