Asexual Reproduction
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Anyone currently suffering through the pollen-induced spring allergy season knows from personal experience that number of plants reproduce sexually. However, a number of varieties of plants use asexual means of reproduction (that is, any one of the forms of reproduction that do not use meiosis and so do not require the use of sex cells). Asexual reproduction results in a new, but genetically identical individual. There are distinct advantages to both forms of reproduction (which occur in other kingdoms as well). The primary advantage of sexual reproduction is that it allows for a high degree of genetic variability, which, in turn, allows for the creation of a population that is both well adapted to its environment (i.e. is likely to produce a large number of reproductively successful offspring) and has sufficient variability present to allow the species to adapt to changing conditions (through the process of natural selection among varied individuals). While the advantages that sexual reproduction offer to species are so great that many plants and animals rely solely on sexual reproduction, there are drawbacks to this method of reproduction, including the fact that in highly stable environments the genetic/somatic variations that necessarily arise through sexual reproduction are likely to prove to be disadvantageous the fact that sexual reproduction requires individual members of a species to find each other (i.e. through the process of pollination), a process
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r more properly Crassula ovata) is one of many plants (many of which are among the ranks of commonly cultivated plants for precisely this reason) that do not generally reproduce asexually under naturally conditions but that can be induced to reproduce asexually easily and successfully. Stem cuttings of jade plants will most often root in water once they have grown roots can be successfully planted in soil and grow into a mature plant. This form of vegetative propagation from a "cuttings" (which is any portion of the plant's shoot system) may also occur in nature, but under natural conditions the jade plant is more likely to reproduce sexually (http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/624.html).
Bryophyllum delagoense
Bryophyllum delagoense (the aptly named Mother of thousands) uses the asexual method of reproduction known as fragmentation. The species is viviparous, producing seeds that germinate before becoming detached from the mother plant. The "babies" that can be seen along the edges of the leaves of this plant are actually adventitious plants themselves. An adventitious plant is: "A young plant that develops in an asexual manner on the leaves or stems of the mother plant." (http://www.emilycompost.com/garden_glossary.htm#AD
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Approximate Word count = 1581
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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