PubMed · 2026-06-08
Gymnosperms — the group that includes pines, spruces, redwoods, and cycads — are among Earth's oldest and most ecologically dominant plants, with a fossil record spanning 300 million years. Though only about 1,100 species exist today, they dominate vast forest landscapes and hold records for the oldest, tallest, and largest living organisms on Earth.
Gymnosperms comprise only ~1,100 living species but predate angiosperms (flowering plants) by more than 150 million years, with fossils going back over 300 million years.
Individual gymnosperms hold multiple biological records: bristlecone pines live ~5,000 years, coast redwoods exceed 110 meters in height, and giant sequoias reach ~1,500 tons in mass.
Despite low species diversity, gymnosperms dominate woody plant biomass in montane and boreal forests and are economically critical as the primary source of softwood lumber and paper pulp.
