Here's why:

* Vascular tissue: This means the plant has specialized tissues for transporting water and nutrients. Both gymnosperms and angiosperms (flowering plants) have vascular tissue.

* Produces seeds: This eliminates plants like ferns and mosses, which reproduce via spores.

* Does NOT produce flowers: This distinguishes it from angiosperms (flowering plants).

Gymnosperms are a group of plants that includes conifers (like pine, fir, and spruce), cycads, ginkgoes, and gnetophytes. They produce seeds, but these seeds are not enclosed within a fruit like in flowering plants. Instead, they are typically found on cones or scales.