WBCS Preliminary Examination 2023 — General Studies · Question 128 of 200

Answer: (A) Vegetative reproduction

Vegetative reproduction, in which a new individual grows from a root, stem or leaf, is confined to plants. Natural examples are the tuber of potato, the rhizome of ginger, the bulb of onion, the runner of grass and the leaf buds of Bryophyllum; cutting, layering, grafting and tissue culture are artificial methods. Asexual reproduction in general also occurs in animals (budding in Hydra, binary fission in Amoeba, regeneration in Planaria), sexual reproduction is found in both kingdoms, and parthenogenesis, the development of an unfertilised egg, is seen mainly in animals such as honeybees (drones), aphids and rotifers.