Q.Natural vegetative propagation by leaves only in different vascular plants.

A project on leaf propagation: observing, growing and recording plants whose leaves alone can produce complete new plants. …

Aim. To study how a whole plant regenerates from a leaf alone, without any stem or root, in different vascular plants.

Plants to use (all easy to obtain). Bryophyllum and Kalanchoe (plantlets form in the notches of the leaf margin, even on an attached leaf), Begonia (a leaf laid flat on moist sand produces plantlets where its veins are cut), Sansevieria (mother-in-law's tongue: a leaf cut into 5-cm pieces roots from the lower cut end), and the walking fern Asplenium or any fern whose frond tips bear bulbils.

Method. Detach a healthy mature leaf (or leaf piece) of each plant, lay or plant it on moist sand or garden soil in a pot, keep it in shade and moist but not water-logged, and observe every three days for about a month. For Begonia, cut across the main veins on the under-surface and pin the leaf flat; for Sansevieria keep the pieces the right way up.

Observations to record (a table per plant). Date of setting; day on which roots first appear; day on which the first shoot or plantlet appears; where on the leaf it arose (margin notch, cut vein, cut base, frond tip); number of plantlets per leaf; and a sketch or photograph of each stage. …