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{{more footnotes|date=December 2013}}
{{Distinguish|Sporophyte}}
[[File:Fern-frond-sori.jpg|thumb|right|The sporophyll of a fern. It is a fertile leaf bearing reproductive structures.]]
A '''sporophyll''' is a [[leaf]] that bears [[sporangia]]. Both [[microphylls and megaphylls]] can be sporophylls. In [[heterosporous]] plants, sporophylls (whether they are microphylls or megaphylls) bear either megasporangia and thus are called '''megasporophylls''', or [[microsporangia]] and are called '''microsporophylls'''. The overlap of the prefixes and roots makes these terms a particularly confusing subset of botanical nomenclature.
Sporophylls vary greatly in appearance and structure, and may or may not look similar to sterile leaves. Plants that produce sporophylls include:
''[[Alaria esculenta]]'', a brown alga which shows sporophylls attached near the base of the alga.<ref>Dickson, Carola I. 1963. ''British Seaweeds''. The Kew Series.</ref>
[[Lycophyte]]s, where sporophylls may be aggregated into [[strobilus|strobili]] (''Selaginella'' and some ''Lycopodium'' and related genera) or distributed singly among sterile leaves (''[[Huperzia]]''). Sporangia are borne in the axil or on the adaxial surface of the sporophyll. In heterosporous members, megasporophylls and microsporophylls may be intermixed or separated in a variety of patterns.
[[Fern]]s, which may produce sporophylls that are similar to sterile fronds or that appear very different from sterile fronds. These may be non-photosynthetic and lack typical pinnae,
[[Cycad]]s produce strobili, both pollen-producing and seed-producing, that are composed of sporophylls.
''[[Ginkgo]]'' produces microsporophylls aggregated into a pollen strobilus. Ovules are not born on sporophylls {{Citation needed|reason=the structure that carries the seed and arillus of Ginko can and has been interpreted as a leave (This means that Ovules are in Ginko born on megasphorophylls), why should this be wrong now?|date=October 2017}}.
Some plants do not produce sporophylls. Sporangia are produced directly on stems. ''[[Psilotum]]'' has been interpreted as producing sporangia (fused in a synangium) on the terminus of a stem. ''[[Equisetum]]'' always produce strobili, but the structures bearing sporangia (sporangiophores) have been interpreted as [[Aerial stem modification|modified stems]]. The sporangia, despite being recurved are interpreted as terminal.
[[Gnetophyte]]s produce both compound pollen and seed strobili.
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[[Category:Plant morphology]]
[[Category:Plant reproduction]]
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