Question

What will happen when buds are formed in the notches of the bryophyllum leaf?

Answer 1

Hint: Asexual reproduction takes place when there is no involvement of male and female reproductive gametes. One such example of asexual reproduction is vegetative propagation. In vegetative propagation, new plants are produced from vegetative parts of a plant such as leaves.

Complete answer:
Reproduction is an important aspect in living things. It is a process by which genetically similar offspring are produced by a parent plant. Reproduction can be of sexual or asexual means. Vegetative propagation in leaves is a type of asexual reproduction in plants like bryophyllum.
In bryophyllum, leaves are broad and small buds are formed in the notches by asexual means. These buds are known as epiphyllous buds. Epiphyllous buds are adventitious buds that are formed on the leaf margins. When the leaf falls off the plant, the buds present on the leaf margins germinate into a new plant. The roots developed from these buds provide the required anchorage in the soil for the development of a new plant.

Additional information:
Vegetative propagation is both advantageous as well as disadvantageous. One main advantage is that desirable traits are passed on to generation after generation. One major disadvantage is there is no genetic variation so the plants are prone to similar crop diseases.

Note:
The buds formed in the notches of a bryophyllum leaf are the vegetative structures involved in the asexual reproduction of the plant. These buds are formed by the meristematic tissues of the plant. When a leaf falls off from this plant, each bud present in the leaf is capable of germinating into a new plant.