Sporophore

Sporophore, or SPOROPHYTE, the stage or generation in the life of a plant that produces asexual spores, as distinguished from the alternating stage or generation; the gametophyte, in which sexual reprodnctive organs are produced. In Bryophyta and in most Thallophyta the sporophore is relatlvely small and of an appendicular character, being, for instance, in mosses what is known as the capsule or theca, with its stalk or seta. In Pteridophyta the sporophore becomes relatively far more important than the gametophyte, being the entire stem and leaves of the leafy plants, whilst the gametophyte is merely the prothallium. In flowering-plants, again, the sporophore becomes even more important, being the whole plant except the contents of the pollen-grains and the archisperm.