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Article: Seedless Vascular Plants
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- Biology
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Seedless Vascular Plants
When one walks through a contemporary forest, all of the surrounding trees are vascular plants. Wood, which is made up primarily of
xylem
, and bark, which contains
phloem
, are the major structural elements of the trunks and stems. These trees produce seeds, whether they be formed within the cones of the pines or within fruits, such as the winged samaras of maples or the fleshy cherries of the cherry tree. In the Carboniferous period a similar hike would also place one in a forest of woody trees, many as large as 98 feet (30 meters) tall, but there would be no seeds produced. These plants were seedless vascular plants, which were propogated by spores. ...