noun
- In botany, the part of a plant that bears or produces gametangia (sex organs); the gametophyte or the structure that generates gametes.
Usage: technical; botany; rare in general use
Examples
- The gametophore of mosses is the visible green plant that produces sperm and eggs.
- In liverworts, the gametophore develops from a spore and bears the reproductive organs.
- Botanists distinguish between the gametophore and the sporophore in the life cycle of bryophytes.
- The gametophore is typically the dominant generation in mosses and liverworts.