Asexual reproduction in plants involving the vegetative structures the roots, stems, and leaves.

. Vegetative structures normally play a part in the nutrition & growth of plants. When these parts give rise to new plants, it is called vegetative reproduction or propagation.

Two Types of Vegetative Reproduction Natural

Bulb Corm Tuber Stolon Rhizome

Artificial
Stem Cutting Leaf Cutting Layering Grafting

A bulb is really an underground storehouse and flower factory. Bulbs planted in the autumn will produce beautiful flowers the following spring.

Cross-section

Longitudinal -section

In this red onion cross section, you can clearly see the round tubular leaves develop inside each other. There are two flowering stalks in the middle of this bulb.

Note the prominent basal plate to which the remains of the previous seasons root system are attached.

This tulip bulb, like the onion bulb, has a preformed flower in the center.

Many bulbs reproduce themselves asexually by forming offsets on the basal plate.

Garlic is also a bulb in which axillary buds grow to form many offsets (cloves).

Greenhouse lilies are one of the most difficult crops to grow. The only market is Easter and Easter comes at a different time each year. Many factors such as day length,temperature and sunny days are involved.

The corm is a relatively solid modified stem that has a few fleshy leaves. In the photo, the upside down crocus corm has a black line drawn on it to emphasize the point of attachment of a leaf. The papery tunic on the outside of the crocus corm is the dead petiole (leaf stem) from last years leaf. The crocus flower often pops through the snow in March offering the first sign of spring. To insure another season of flowers, the foliage of all bulbs should be left in place after flowering.

The potato is an underground stem known as a tuber. It is a stem because it has many nodes called eyes with spaces between the eyes known as internodes.

Most potatoes are treated with growth inhibitors to retard their eyes from sprouting during storage.

The sweet potato is not a tuber like a white potato. Instead, it is a tuberous root.

The sweet potato reproduces itself by producing adventitious shoots called slips.

A stolon is a stem that grows sideways and has buds. Usually the stolon grows along the surface of the ground. Stolons can be seen on grasses and strawberries.

A rhizome is a large, fleshy underground stem that runs parallel with the soil. Iris plants grow from rhizomes. These plants can be propagated by cutting the rhizome into pieces to which a piece of foliage is attached.

Ginger, used in cooking, is a rhizome.

In plants such as Bryophyllum (also known as mother of thousands) or the piggyback plant, the leaf supports development of tiny shoot buds. These buds may begin to form roots at their base. As these shoots break off from the original leaf, they fall onto the ground and take root. Cytokinins accumulating at the leaf margins stimulate cell division in the notches to produce these adventitious shoots.

Artificial Vegetative Reproduction

Leaf Cuttings
Many plants, like the African Violet shown here, can be artificially cloned by leaf cuttings.

Hormones, known as IAA (auxin) & Ck (cytokinins) are involved in this process. The callus that forms is a mixture of meristematic and parenchyma cells that do not have a determined fate. It is possible to influence these cells to differentiate into various tissues.

Stem Cuttings

Many species cannot be propagated from leaves alone. The leaf may root but shoots do not form, or form so slowly that it is impractical. Instead, a stem cutting can be made. A stem cutting grows more rapidly than a leaf cutting because auxin and glucose (made by photosynthesis) is contributed from several leaves. Geraniums can be artificially propagated by stem cuttings.

Black raspberry and blackberry plants (among other species) can spread by having arching shoots that ultimately touch-down onto the soil. The rubbing of the stem on the soil and the horizontal position of the stem along the soil surface cause auxins to build up there. The auxins induce root formation.

The developing roots produce lots of cytokinins. These chemicals induce more shoot formation. The tangle of arching shoots & tip rooting result in a very dense briar patch without the spines.

Grafting is the process of removing a stem or bud from one plant and joining it permanently to the stem of a closely related plant. The part of the plant providing the roots is called the stock. The added piece of plant material is the scion.

The cambium layers (growing region) of the scion and stock must be held in close contact. Grafts are usually held together with a material to help prevent water loss. After awhile, the cambiums of the 2 pieces form new xylem and phloem which grow together and connect the scion with the stock. Stock nourishes scion; scion keeps its own characteristics.