Sporophore

What Does Sporophore Mean?

Spores are produced by fungus generated from the fungus hyphae when the fungus mycelium reaches its growth stage. This is when the fungus reaches the fruiting stage. Though this term is commonly define of fungi or fungus, sporophore is also a non reproductive or asexual placenta of plants like ferns and mosses.

Maximum Yield Explains Sporophore

The term sporophore merges two words together: spore which refers to a reproductive unit and phore, which means carrier. As a result, sporophore is the fruiting or branching structure (or carrier) of the reproductive unit, most commonly in fungus. Given that the fungus family also has a broad range of species and behaviours, sporophore is found in what we commonly call mushroom.

There are other fungus which have sporangiospores, zoospores and conidiophores, which are more sac-like, whip-like and mattress-like, respectively. The distinction is based on whether the fungus is in a primitive or advanced species. It's important to understand the morphology of the fungus to be able to distinguish between sporophore, sporangiospores and zoospores.

Similarly to other plants, fungus attracts insects during the growth stage. Insects like flies come into contact with the fungus and encourage them to release their spores, helping in the reproduction process.