In botany, any plant whose seeds are exposed, as opposed to the structurally more advanced angiosperms, where they are inside an ovary. The group includes conifers and related plants such as cycads and ginkgos, whose seeds develop in cones. Fossil gymnosperms have been found in rocks about 350 million years old.
The maple leaf is a traditional Canadian emblem. Red recalls Canadian lives lost during World War I. White stands for snow. Effective date: 15 February 1965.