vegetative reproduction

1. A form of asexual reproduction in plants, in which multicellular structures become detached from the parent plant and develop into new individuals that are genetically identical to the parent plant. For example, liverworts and mosses form small clumps of tissue (called gemmae) that are dispersed by splashing raindrops to form new plants. Bulbs, corms, offsets, rhizomes, runners, suckers, and tubers are all important means of vegetative reproduction and propagation in cultivated plants.