Clonal Colony - Methods of Establishment

Methods of Establishment

• With most woody plants, clonal colonies arise by wide-ranging roots that at intervals send up new shoots, termed suckers.
• Trees and shrubs with branches that touch the ground can form colonies via layering, e. g. willow and blackberry.
• Some vines naturally form adventitious roots on their stems that take root in the soil when the stems contact the ground, e.g. ivy and trumpet vine.
• With other vines, rooting of the stem where nodes come into contact with soil may establish a clonal colony, e.g. Wisteria.
• Ferns and many herbaceous flowering plants often form clonal colonies via horizontal underground stems termed rhizomes, e.g. ostrich fern Matteuccia struthiopteris and goldenrod.
• A number of herbaceous flowering plants form clonal colonies via horizontal surface stems termed stolons, or runners; e.g. strawberry and many grasses.
• Non-woody plants with underground storage organs such as bulbs and corms can also form colonies, e.g. Narcissus and Crocus.
• A few plant species can form colonies via adventitious plantlets that form on leaves, e.g. Kalanchoe daigremontiana and Tolmiea menziesii.
• A few plant species can form colonies via asexual seeds, termed apomixis, e.g. dandelion.