All living organisms have the ability to produce more of their own kind by the process called reproduction. It ensures continuity and survival of the species; preserving individual species is called self-perpetuation. In sexual reproduction, offsprings are produced by the union of male and female gametes (sperm and egg). Plants show three types of reproduction: vegetative, asexual and sexual.
1. Vegetative Reproduction
New plantlets form from vegetative (somatic) cells, buds or organs (root, stem, leaf or bud) that detach and grow into independent daughter plants. There is only mitotic division, no gametic fusion, and the daughter plants are genetically similar to the parent plant.
| Method | How it happens | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Small plants grow at the leaf notches | Bryophyllum |
| Stems | Weak aerial stems touching the ground give off adventitious roots and buds | Strawberry |
| Root | Tuberous roots used for vegetative propagation | Asparagus, Sweet potato |
| Bulbils | Flower buds modified into globose bulbils, which grow when they fall on the ground | Agave |
| Fragmentation | Filament of filamentous algae breaks into fragments, each growing into a new filament | Spirogyra |
| Fission | Parent cell divides into two daughter cells | Amoeba |
| Budding | Daughter individual forms from a small projection (bud) | Yeast |
| Regeneration | Lost body parts give rise to a whole new organism | Hydra, Planaria |