Question

List and describe any two vegetative propagation in flowering plants.

Answer 1

Hint: Vegetative propagation also known as vegetative reproduction/vegetative cloning/vegetative multiplication. It is any form of a sexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment of the parent plant.

Complete answer
Vegetative propagation is the process of a species or cultivar and it can be sexual or asexual. It can happen through the use of vegetative parts, such as leaves, stems and roots to produce new plants or through growth form. Vegetative reproduction is not evolutionary advantageous; it does not allow for genetic diversity. It is favored when it allows plants to produce more offspring per unit of resource than reproduction through seed production. In flowering plants, unfertilized seeds are produced or plantlets that grow instead of flowers.
Meristem disuse makes the process of asexual reproduction possible. It is normally found in stems, leaves and roots and consists of undifferentiated plant growth and gives rise to plant tissue systems. Another important ability that allows for this is the ability to develop adventitious roots which arise from other vegetative parts of the plants such as the steam or leaves.
There are many types of systems of reproduction such as –
(A) Natural reproduction
(i) Apomixis (ii) Bulb (iii) Runners (iv) Tubers (v) Corms (vi) Suckers (vii) Plantlets (viii) Kiekies
(B) Artificial means
(i) cutting (ii) Grafting (iii) layering (iv) Suckering (v) Tissue (vi) offset

Here we mainly discuss about the two natural ways of vegetative propagation these are –
(i) Runners: Also known as stoles, they are modified stems that unlike rhizomes grow from existing stems just below the soil surface. As they are propagated the buds on the modified stems produce roots and stems. Those buds are more separated than the ones found on the rhizome. Example: Strawberries and currants.
(ii) Suckers: Also known as root sprouts, Suckers are plant stems that arise from buds on the base of parent plants stems or on roots. Example – apple, banana trees.

Note:The produced offspring are clones of their parent plants.
>It also allows plants to avoid the costly and complex process of producing sexual reproduction organs such as flowers.
>They use grafting and budding to ensure the consistency of the new cultivar.
>It offers research advantages in several areas of biology and has practical usage when it comes to afforestation.