\O"["o]*phyte\, n. [Gr. w,'o`n an egg + fyto`n a plant.]
(Bot.)
Any plant of a proposed class or grand division (collectively
termed o["o]phytes or O["o]phyta), which have their sexual
reproduction accomplished by motile antherozoids acting on
o["o]spheres, either while included in their o["o]gonia or
after exclusion.
Note: This class was at first called {O["o]spore[ae]}, and is
      made to include all alg[ae] 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}.