Natural forms of vegetative propagation

Vegetative propagation involves artificial and natural means by which plants reproduce.

Natural means of vegetative propagation includes:

Runners/stolons: some plants produce long side shoots that develop roots, eventually forming a new plant. Example Strawberry, Spider plant.

Leaves: some plants, such as the Leaf of Life, have young plants on their leaves which will grow into new plants if planted or when they fall off.

Rhizomes: these are underground stems that can develop into new plants. They grow sideways in the soil and have a shoot with leaves. Example: Ginger.

Suckers: Banana is a good example of a plant that reproduces in this manner- a new stem grows from the base of an old one, forming a new plant.

Bulb: on plants such as the onion, there are lateral (side) buds which may grow to form new plants.

Tuber: swollen underground stems that can develop into new plants. Examples are Irish potato, carrots and turnips. Some tubers have swollen roots which are called root tubers. Examples of root tubers are sweet potato, cassava and yam.

Corm: this consists of one or more internodes with at least one growing point. Examples of plants with corms include banana, arrowhead and cocoyam.