Gemma (botany)

Pygmy sundew Drosera roseana with gemmae.

A gemma (plural gemmae) is a single cell, or a mass of cells, or a modified bud of tissue, that detaches from the parent and develops into a new individual. This type of asexual reproduction is referred to as fragmentation. It is a means of asexual propagation in plants. These structures are commonly found in fungi, algae, liverworts and mosses, but also in some flowering plants such as pygmy sundews and some species of butterworts.[1][2][page needed] Vascular plants have many other methods of asexual reproduction including bulbils and turions.

  1. ^ "Pygmy Sundew Gemmae". Cascade Carnivores. 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  2. ^ Hughes, Stanley John. On conidia of fungi, and gemmae of algae, bryophytes and pteridophytes. NRC Research Press.