Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Spermatophyta \Sper`ma*toph"y*ta\, n. pl. [NL.; spermato- + Gr.
   ? plant.] (Bot.)
   A phylum embracing the highest plants, or those that produce
   seeds; the seed plants, or flowering plants. They form the
   most numerous group, including over 120,000 species. In
   general, the group is characterized by the marked development
   of the sporophyte, with great differentiation of its parts
   (root, stem, leaves, flowers, etc.); by the extreme reduction
   of the gametophyte; and by the development of seeds. All the
   Spermatophyta are heterosporous; fertilization of the egg
   cell is either through a

   {pollen tube} emitted by the microspore or (in a few
      gymnosperms) by spermatozoids.

   Note: The phrase ``flowering plants'' is less distinctive
         than ``seed plants,'' since the conifers, grasses,
         sedges, oaks, etc., do not produce flowers in the
         popular sense. For this reason the terms {Anthrophyta},
         {Ph[ae]nogamia}, and {Panerogamia} have been superseded
         as names of the phylum by Spermatophyta.