How do bushes reproduce

Grafting allows them to have large plantings of the same fruit variety with exactly the same genetic material. Grafting uses the rootstock of a plant that grows well in the soil and joins it to the plant the breeder wishes to produce. Although we think of science as always advancing at a steady pace, techniques like cutting and grafting have been around for thousands of years.

Science has helped us understand how these techniques work and improve them with advances like rooting hormones and breeding new plant cultivars. As the language used may be too complex for younger students, consider muting the audio and providing your own simpler narration. Add to collection. Nature of science Although we think of science as always advancing at a steady pace, techniques like cutting and grafting have been around for thousands of years.

Go to full glossary Add 0 items to collection. Download 0 items. Twitter Pinterest Facebook Instagram. Email Us. See our newsletters here. Would you like to take a short survey? This survey will open in a new tab and you can fill it out after your visit to the site. Yes No. In grafting , two plant species are used; part of the stem of the desirable plant is grafted onto a rooted plant called the stock.

The part that is grafted or attached is called the scion. Both are cut at an oblique angle any angle other than a right angle , placed in close contact with each other, and are then held together Figure 3. Matching up these two surfaces as closely as possible is extremely important because these will be holding the plant together.

The vascular systems of the two plants grow and fuse, forming a graft. After a period of time, the scion starts producing shoots, and eventually starts bearing flowers and fruits. Grafting is widely used in viticulture grape growing and the citrus industry. Scions capable of producing a particular fruit variety are grated onto root stock with specific resistance to disease. Plants such as coleus and money plant are propagated through stem cuttings , where a portion of the stem containing nodes and internodes is placed in moist soil and allowed to root.

In some species, stems can start producing a root even when placed only in water. For example, leaves of the African violet will root if kept in water undisturbed for several weeks. Figure 4. In layering, a part of the stem is buried so that it forms a new plant. Layering is a method in which a stem attached to the plant is bent and covered with soil. Young stems that can be bent easily without any injury are preferred. Jasmine and bougainvillea paper flower can be propagated this way Figure 4.

In some plants, a modified form of layering known as air layering is employed. A portion of the bark or outermost covering of the stem is removed and covered with moss, which is then taped. Some gardeners also apply rooting hormone. After some time, roots will appear, and this portion of the plant can be removed and transplanted into a separate pot. Micropropagation also called plant tissue culture is a method of propagating a large number of plants from a single plant in a short time under laboratory conditions Figure 5.

This method allows propagation of rare, endangered species that may be difficult to grow under natural conditions, are economically important, or are in demand as disease-free plants. Figure 5. Micropropagation is used to propagate plants in sterile conditions. To start plant tissue culture, a part of the plant such as a stem, leaf, embryo, anther, or seed can be used.

The plant material is thoroughly sterilized using a combination of chemical treatments standardized for that species. Under sterile conditions, the plant material is placed on a plant tissue culture medium that contains all the minerals, vitamins, and hormones required by the plant.

The plant part often gives rise to an undifferentiated mass known as callus, from which individual plantlets begin to grow after a period of time. These can be separated and are first grown under greenhouse conditions before they are moved to field conditions.

Figure 6. The bristlecone pine, shown here in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains of eastern California, has been known to live for 4, years. The length of time from the beginning of development to the death of a plant is called its life span. The life cycle, on the other hand, is the sequence of stages a plant goes through from seed germination to seed production of the mature plant. Some plants, such as annuals, only need a few weeks to grow, produce seeds and die.

Other plants, such as the bristlecone pine, live for thousands of years. Some bristlecone pines have a documented age of 4, years Figure 6. Even as some parts of a plant, such as regions containing meristematic tissue—the area of active plant growth consisting of undifferentiated cells capable of cell division—continue to grow, some parts undergo programmed cell death apoptosis. The cork found on stems, and the water-conducting tissue of the xylem, for example, are composed of dead cells.

The female gametophyte develops inside the ovule while the male gametophyte is the pollen. Cycads are wind or insect pollinated. The pollen falling on an ovule on the megasporophylls grows a pollen tube to carry the male gamete to the egg cell. However, the tip of the pollen tube eventually breaks, releasing the sperm cells which have to swim towards the egg cell to fertilize it. Fertilized ovules develop into viable seeds over a period of several months. Cone-bearing evergreens such as firs, birches and pines reproduce by scaly seeds that develop inside female cones.

Unlike cycads, both male and female cones develop on the same plant, but on separate branches. The conifer plants we see are the sporophytes. The smaller male cones carry microspores that produce pollen while the larger female cones carry the ovules that form megaspores. The male and female gametophytes develop inside the microspore and megaspore respectively. The pollen is actually the male gametophyte. The wind carries the pollen to the female cone where the male gametophyte develops further and sends out a pollen tube to reach the egg cell in the female gametophyte.

After fertilization, the seeds develop inside the tightly closed female cones until they are mature. It may take two years or more, but once ready, the cones open up, exposing the naked seeds. Maidenhair fern trees Gingko biloba and Gnetales are also non-flowering plants. Cone-like structures on male plants produce pollen and the female plants produce the ovules that eventually become seeds.

Although they are gymnosperms, their nut-like seeds have a fleshy seed coat which makes them look like fruits. Sexual reproduction is the key to genetic diversity and survival. Not all non-flowering plants reproduce by spores. At the same time, mushrooms and toadstools that reproduce by spores are not considered plants. They have their own plant kingdom together with other fungi like puffballs, mold, and rusts.

Non-flowering plants add beauty and diversity to any garden area. Consider including them to your landscape where they will be valued for their foliage, texture, and unique characteristics. Mosses Mosses are tiny plants that grow as a green carpet in moist areas.

Both Sexual and Asexual Phases Mosses have sexual and asexual phases in their life cycle. Use and Types Some gardeners successfully use ornamental mosses in moist, shady areas, while others consider them weeds. Ferns Ferns are highly valued in the gardening circles for their feathery fronds. Reproduction Process Ferns ruled the world at one time when the earth was literally a warm, steamy greenhouse.

Types of Ferns There are a number of other non-flowering vascular plant groups, such as club moss and spikemoss, generally known as fern allies. Gymnosperms Seed producing non-flowering plants include cycads and conifers. Cycads These are woody evergreen plants with a palm-like appearance. Wind and Insect Pollination Cycads are wind or insect pollinated. Conifers Cone-bearing evergreens such as firs, birches and pines reproduce by scaly seeds that develop inside female cones.

Wind Pollination The wind carries the pollen to the female cone where the male gametophyte develops further and sends out a pollen tube to reach the egg cell in the female gametophyte.