sporophore

[spawr-uh-fawr, spohr-uh-fohr]

noun

Mycology.

1. a fungus hypha specialized to bear spores.

sporophore

/ ˈspɔːrəʊˌfɔː, ˈspɒ- /

noun

1. an organ in fungi that produces or carries spores, esp the massive spore-bearing body of mushrooms, etc

Other Word Forms

• sporophoric adjective
• sporophorous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sporophore¹

First recorded in 1840–50; sporo- + -phore

Example Sentences

The simple sporophore does not necessarily terminate in conidia, however.

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Stump of Norway Spruce, with a sporophore of polyporus annosus several years old; the inner portions of the stump wholly decayed.

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Corda states that, although only one spore is produced at a time on each sporophore, when this falls away others are produced in succession for a limited period.

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The term “receptacle” sometimes applied to these spore-bearing hyphae is better replaced by sporophore.

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The sporophore is obsolete when the spore-bearing hyphae are not sharply distinct from the mycelium, simple when the constituent hyphae are isolated, and compound when the latter are conjoined.

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