vegetative reproduction

Examples of asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction is the simplest form of reproduction, occurring in many plants and simple animals. Strawberry plants can reproduce by sending out runners; onion plants form bulbs; and potato plants form tubers. Amoebas divide into two (binary fission) and hydra form new hydra by budding. The offspring are always genetically identical to the parent.

Type of asexual reproduction in plants that relies not on spores, but on multicellular structures formed by the parent plant. Some of the main types are stolons and runners, gemmae, bulbils, sucker shoots produced from roots (such as in the creeping thistle Cirsium arvense), tubers, bulbs, corms, and rhizomes. Vegetative reproduction has long been exploited in horticulture and agriculture, with various methods employed to multiply stocks of plants. See also plant propagation.