What is "sporophore"

Sporophore \Spo"ro*phore\ (sp[=o]"r[-o]*f[=o]r), n. [Spore + Gr. fe`rein to bear.] (Bot.)

1. A placenta.

2. That alternately produced form of certain cryptogamous plants, as ferns, mosses, and the like, which is nonsexual, but produces spores in countless numbers. In ferns it is the leafy plant, in mosses the capsule. Cf. O["o]phore.

n. A spore-producing organ, especially a fungus hypha specialized to carry spores.

n. a spore-bearing branch or organ: the part of the thallus of a sporophyte that develops spores; in ferns and mosses and liverworts is practically equivalent to the sporophyte