Plant Methods of Reproduction

Plants lack mobility because their roots anchor them to a specific location, meaning they cannot go in search of a mate as animals can. So, over millions of years, plants developed other methods of reproduction instead. Some plants replicate themselves with a single means, such as seeds, while others, such as multiflora rose and Japanese honeysuckle, have developed more than one way to multiply their numbers.

All flowering plants produce seeds, which form within the female parts of flowers once pollination (fertilization) has taken place. Inside the hard seed shell, which is known as a capsule, the embryo of a new plant forms. Once seeds mature, plants employ a variety of means to disperse them. Seeds of plants such as common dandelions and milkweed are carried on the wind. Larger seeds, such as acorns and walnuts, may roll some distance away from the parent plant before coming to rest. Coconuts often fall into the ocean, where they float to faraway locations.

Layering is a reproductive method employed by plants such as blackberries and multiflora roses. These plants produce long, drooping canes. When the canes make contact with the soil, they begin to take root and form new plants. In the case of the multiflora rose, this is a second means of replication, because the plant also produces seeds, as many as 500,000 in a single growing season.

Another reproductive adaptation employed by plants is through rhizomes. A rhizome is a laterally growing underground stem that originates from just beneath the crown of the parent plant. After it has traveled a genetically predetermined distance, the rhizome will break through to the soil surface, take permanent root and begin to produce a new plant. A plant that employs this tactic with brutal efficiency is the Japanese honeysuckle, which is an invasive plant from Asia. Bamboo plants also reproduce via rhizomes.

Some plants, such as strawberries, runner beans and (unfortunately) Japanese honeysuckle, produce laterally growing stems known as runners, which travel along the surface of the soil. When the tip of a runner lodges in an acceptable growing space, it roots and forms a new plant. In the case of strawberries, this new plant is known as a daughter.

Not all green plants flower. Some, such as ferns, have an entirely different method of reproduction, by producing spores. The undersides of fern fronds have long rows of spores growing on them. Once the spores ripen and mature, they turn a rusty-brown color and will be dispersed by the wind.