Vegetative Reproduction
Some plants are able to produce new plants from a fragment of the parent plant or a specialized reproductive structure. This process is called vegetative reproduction. Vegetative reproduction is an asexual process and the offspring are genetically identical to the parents.
Strawberries have flowers and can reproduce sexually. They can also produce new plants from modified stems called runners. Runners grow out from the strawberry plant, usually just beneath the surface of the soil. They eventually develop their own roots and begin to grow. The roots hold the new plant in the soil and the runner dries up and breaks away.
Potatoes can also reproduce vegetatively. The part of a potato plant we eat is a modified stem called a tuber. New plants develop from buds on the sides of the tuber. As they grow, they use the starch stored in the potato for energy.
Bryophyllum is a plant that can reproduce from plantlets on its leaves. Plantlets are tiny structures growing on the edges of the leaves. The plantlets grow roots while still attached to the parent plant. Eventually the plantlets drop to the ground and grow into new plants.
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