angiosperm

Flowering plant in which the seeds are enclosed within an ovary, which ripens into a fruit. Angiosperms are divided into monocotyledons (single seed leaf in the embryo) and dicotyledons (two seed leaves in the embryo). They include the majority of flowers, herbs, grasses, and trees except conifers.

There are over 250,000 different species of angiosperm, found in a wide range of habitats. Like gymnosperms, they are seed plants, but differ in that ovules and seeds are protected within the carpel. Fertilization occurs by male gametes passing into the ovary from a pollen tube. After fertilization the ovule develops into the seed while the ovary wall develops into the fruit.

There is evidence of fossil angiosperms from the Jurassic era, and genera that seem very similar to modern examples have been found from the Cretaceous period.