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

Both groups do bear seeds, but the way the ovules and seeds are held is completely different, and that is the basis for separating them.

• In gymnosperms the ovules are not enclosed in any ovary; they lie exposed on the sporophylls, both before and after fertilisation. Since no ovary wall surrounds them, the seeds that form are also naked (uncovered). There is no flower, and pollination is by wind. …

It is true that gymnosperms and angiosperms are alike in one big respect: both are seed-bearing plants, which sets them apart from algae, bryophytes and pteridophytes. But sharing a feature is not enough to place two groups together; what matters is how that feature is organised, and here the two differ fundamentally.

• Gymnosperms — the naked-seeded plants. Their very name says it: the ovules sit exposed on the plant rather than being tucked inside a protective ovary, and they stay uncovered both before and after fertilisation. Because no ovary wall ever encloses them, the seeds that form after fertilisation are also left naked. The ovules are carried on megasporophylls that may be gathered into female cones, and pollination happens by wind, the pollen grain being carried by air currents to the opening of the ovule. …