Plants can reproduce either sexually (through spores or
seeds) or asexually (vegetatively). There is a geographic pattern
to plant reproduction: in the temperate zones of the world, cold
winters make it difficult for plants to reproduce vegetatively, while
the tropics vegetative reproduction is an option for both wild and
cultivated plants. Many tropical cultivars, especially the traditional
Hawaiian crops are propagated
vegetatively. To understand plants in the tropics, it is important to
understand sexual and asexual
Sexual and Asexual Reproduction Compared
plants start from pieces of old plants.
plants start from spores or seeds.
plants come from single parents
plants come from multiple parents
shoots or tubers.
structures such as sori, fruits, or
to freezing, so rarely occur in cold
places. (Some plants may produce dormant bulbs which stay
underground through winter).
hardy enough to endure cold or drought before
sprouting in better conditions.
predictably has the same characteristics as the
combines characteristics from
parents in new, sometimes unpredictable, ways.
variability, though there is variability
between populations (e.g. types of taro).
degree of variability within each plant population.
The high variability
of sexually-reproduced plants allows species to adapt to
changing environmental conditions, so
wild plants most often produce this way. Wild plants can also reproduce
vegetatively, and sometimes do so to quickly expand their range, as
gingers and bamboo have done in the mountains of O‘ahu.
predictability of asexually-reproduced plants make this method
very appealing to farmers, who often want to
grow new plants that have the same characteristics as the old
ones. Often crops which can be variable in taste, like avocados
or mangos or apples, are propagated vegetatively.
Even some “seed crops” are grown from cloned seed
produced from tissue culture in labs. Did you know that most of
the corn now grown in the US is
genetically identical? Corn traditionally had a high degree of
variability (or “agrobiodiversity”)
— which allowed it to be adapted to a wide range of climatic conditions
but now modern agribusinesses, that value predictability, encourage
Which plants reproduce in which ways?
All wild plants reproduce sexually at some times, though
they may also reproduce vegetatively at others. How can you tell
which way it is? Look at whether the new plants are growing from
seeds or in some other way!
Some domesticated plants, i.e. food crops, have been
selected for so long that they no longer reproduce in the wild.
For instance, “seedless” bananas and grapes can’t be planted from seed,
so they have to be vegetatively propagated. You can look at list
temperate foodplants to see which ones are usually grown in which
ways. As you can see, some of them can be propagated either
Kinds of vegetative propagation
Plants can be propagated from different parts of the
side-shoots: taro (kalo), breadfruit (‘ulu), banana (mai‘a), agave, pineapple, bamboo
slips (apical cuttings):
(‘uala), mint, basil
sections of rhizomes,
bulbs or tubers: ginger, turmeric (‘ōlena), pia, potato, lilies,
sugarcane (kō), cassava,
malungay, ti (kī), ‘awa,
mango, apple, grapes, soursop, citrus
Plants propagated by slips (sweet-potato), stems (sugarcane) and side-shoots (breadfruit).
[Illustrations from He mālaʻai kaʻu (I have a garden) from ‘Aha Pūnana Leo]
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