Question

Both gymnosperms and angiosperms bear seeds, then why are they classified separately?

Answer 1

Plants of both the gymnosperms and the angiosperms bear seeds, but still they are classified separately because of the position where seeds are produced, inside or outside of the fruit.

Complete answer:
Both the angiosperms and gymnosperms are vascular plants of the kingdom Plantae. Both of them are flowering plants that bear seeds but still, they are classified separately because gymnosperms seeds are naked as they develop directly on sporophylls without covering whereas the angiosperm seeds develop inside the fruit or mature ovary.
-In gymnosperms, the sporophylls are combined or clustered together to form compact cones. Here the microsporophylls are broad and compact and they are not distinguished into filaments and anthers.
-Whereas the megasporophylls are woody and the ovary, style, and stigma, are absent or lacking because of this the ovules lie exposed, they are not covered. The female gametophyte consists of archegonia.
-When the fertilization occurs it involves the fusion of a male gamete with the female gamete. Their endosperm is haploid and the seeds produced are naked as there is no formation of fruit.
-In angiosperms, the sporophylls are clustered or combined to form flowers with the perianth. Here the microsporophylls consist of stamens containing pollen sacs. These pollen sacs bear the male gametes known as pollen grains.
-Whereas the megasporophylls are delicate and rolled, containing the ovary, style, and stigma, which together form the carpels of the flower. The ovules are present inside the ovary and the archegonium is replaced by an egg apparatus in the angiosperms.
-During fertilization, the two male gametes enter the egg apparatus. Out of two gametes, one male gamete fertilizes with the egg, and the other fuses with the diploid secondary nucleus to form endosperm. Their endosperm is triploid and the development of seeds takes place inside the fruits.

Note: -In gymnosperms, the seeds are naked, and in angiosperms, the seed is enclosed within the ovary.
-In gymnosperms, the reproductive system is present in cones whereas in angiosperms the reproductive system is present in flowers.
-The endosperm is haploid in gymnosperms whereas it is triploid in angiosperms.