nonflower

Nonflower, or nonflowering, is a descriptive term used for organisms that do not produce flowers. In botany, it usually refers to several major plant lineages that are not flowering plants, including bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, hornworts), pteridophytes (ferns, horsetails, whisk ferns), and gymnosperms (cones-bearing plants such as conifers, cycads, ginkgo, and gnetophytes). These groups produce reproductive units other than flowers, such as spores or seeds not enclosed in fruits.

Reproduction in nonflowering plants varies by lineage. Bryophytes reproduce via spores and have a dominant gametophyte life stage, with a smaller sporophyte dependent on the gametophyte. Ferns and their relatives reproduce by spores as well, but their life cycle features a dominant sporophyte generation. Gymnosperms produce seeds in cones rather than within fruits, reflecting a different evolutionary path from flowering plants. Nonflowering plants inhabit a wide range of environments, from moist forests to arid regions, with bryophytes often requiring moisture for fertilization.

Taxonomically, “nonflowering” is not a formal group but a practical category used to contrast with flowering plants (angiosperms). While angiosperms form the vast majority of modern flora, nonflowering lineages represent older branches of the plant kingdom. The term can also appear in broader discussions that include algae or fungi, but in botany it primarily describes land plant lineages that do not produce flowers.