Analysis of the misguided practice of recognizing Gymnosperms as flowering plants
Kyu Bae Lee
Abstract
The aim of this study is to analyse misinformation about gymnosperm taxon used for over 57 years, since 1957 when plant biology as a discipline was established in our country. That is, terminologies and descriptions of the reproductive structure (flower) of angiosperms (flowering seed plants) have been incorrectly applied to the reproductive structures (typically cones and pollen grain) of gymnosperms (non-flowering seed plants) by numerous and various media such as text books, dictionaries, and internet websites for plant biology. Thus, these resources have been misleading teachers, students, and other people interested in plant biology in general and taxonomy in particular by describing gymnosperm reproductive structures as if they are the same as angiosperms. Such a practice has an especially adverse effect on plant biology education at all levels of instruction, with teachers and students confused in their understanding of the concept and definition of a flower. In this paper, these incorrect expressions for the reproductive structures of gymnosperms from the various media are analysed and discussed in terms of cladogram, anatomy of reproductive structures, and historical context of classification systems.
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