1. The diploid, spore-producing generation in plants with alternation of generations; the sporophyte.
Usage: botany; technical

Examples

• In ferns, the oophyte is the large, leafy plant we typically see in nature.
• The oophyte generation produces spores through meiosis.
• Mosses have a dominant gametophyte and a smaller, dependent oophyte.
• During the plant's life cycle, the oophyte alternates with the gametophyte.
• The oophyte of flowering plants is the mature sporophyte we recognize as the plant body.