Which of the following propagates through leaf-tip :-
A
Sprout-leaf plant
B
Marchantia
C
Moss
D
Walking fern
The answer is D.
Solution
In the walking fern (Adiantum caudatum), the tip of the long leaf (frond) bends down and touches the soil. Where it touches, it forms roots and a bud, and a new plant develops. The new plant again produces leaves whose tips root further away, so the fern seems to walk across the ground. This is vegetative propagation through the leaf tip. In the sprout-leaf plant (Bryophyllum), new plantlets arise from adventitious buds in the notches along the leaf margin, not at the tip. Marchantia propagates by gemmae, and moss by fragmentation and buds on the protonema. So the walking fern propagates through the leaf tip.
ConceptPropagation by leaf tips in walking fern
Vegetative Propagation in past papers
2 questions from this chapter have appeared across 2 exam years.