The gymnosperms consist of five orders of seed plants: Cupressales, Cycadales, Ginkgoales, Gnetales and Pinales. They developed more than 350 million years ago, long before flowering plants, according to the fossil record. The name comes from the Greek for "naked seed"; the egg cells are not protected by ovaries, as in flowering plants.
Gymnosperms are divided into 12 families of trees, shrubs and woody vines. Sequoiadendron giganteum, the giant redwood, is the largest tree in the world, and Sequoia sempervirens, the coastal redwood, is the tallest. Ginkgo trees tolerate urban pollutants well, and are often planted in and near cities. The pine family is the main source of softwood timber, paper pulp and turpentine. The flexible wood of the yew family is used in longbows and musical instruments.
From the glossary of botanical terms: