O"ö*phyte (?), n. [Gr.
w,'o`n an egg + fyto`n a plant.] (Bot.)
Any plant of a proposed class or grand division (collectively
termed oöphytes or Oöphyta), which have their
sexual reproduction accomplished by motile antherozoids acting on
oöspheres, either while included in their oögonia or after
exclusion.
&fist; This class was at first called Oösporeæ,
and is made to include all algæ and fungi which have this kind
of reproduction, however they may differ in all other respects, the
contrasted classes of Thallophytes being Protophytes,
Zygophytes, and Carpophytes. The whole system has its
earnest advocates, but is rejected by many botanists. See
Carpophyte.