The spermatophytes (from the Greek word "Σπερματόφυτα"), also known as phanerogams or phenogamae, comprise those plants that produce seeds, hence the alternative name seed plants. They are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants. The term phanerogams or phanerogamae is derived from the Greek , = "visible", in contrast to the cryptogamae from Greek = "hidden" together with the suffix , , "to marry". These terms distinguished those plants with hidden sexual organs (cryptogamae) from those with visible sexual organs (phanerogamae).