Why do gymnosperm seeds form without fruits?

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Gymnosperm Pine cone and exposed seeds of the pinyon pine (*Pinus edulis*). Pinyon pines are gymnosperms and bear their edible seeds, known as pine nuts, in protective cones instead of fruit.

Gymnosperms do not form fruits because they lack the specific reproductive structures—namely, the ovary and flowers—that are required to produce them.12

In angiosperms, the ovules are enclosed within an ovary, which matures into a fruit after fertilization. In contrast, gymnosperms are defined by their "naked seeds," meaning their ovules are not enclosed in an ovary. Instead, these ovules lie exposed on specialized leaflike structures called megasporophylls, which are typically arranged in unisexual cones (strobili). Because there is no ovary to develop into a fruit, the seeds remain exposed throughout their development.3241