[Solved] Policies that support greater equality, often by granting racial or gender preferences in hiring, education, or contracting, are known as which of the following? A) Civil rights B) Affirmative action C) Civil liberties D) Common law E) Civil precedent Gymnosperms: A group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetophytes, characterized by their naked seeds not enclosed in an ovary. Angiosperms: A large group of plants characterized by having flowers and producing seeds enclosed within a fruit. Xylem: Complex vascular tissue of plants; cell walls of its dead tracheids and vessel elements form tubes that distribute water and mineral ions through the plant body. Tracheids: Component of xylem. Tapered cells that die when mature; pitted walls that remain interconnect with other tracheids to form water-conducting tubes.