<P> Plant reproduction is the production of new individuals or offspring in plants, which can be accomplished by sexual or asexual reproduction . Sexual reproduction produces offspring by the fusion of gametes, resulting in offspring genetically different from the parent or parents . Asexual reproduction produces new individuals without the fusion of gametes, genetically identical to the parent plants and each other, except when mutations occur . In seed plants, the offspring can be packaged in a protective seed, which is used as an agent of dispersal . </P> <P> Plants have two main types of asexual reproduction in which new plants are produced that are genetically identical clones of the parent individual . Vegetative reproduction involves a vegetative piece of the original plant (budding, tillering, etc .) and is distinguished from apomixis, which is a replacement for sexual reproduction, and in some cases involves seeds . Apomixis occurs in many plant species and also in some non-plant organisms . For apomixis and similar processes in non-plant organisms, see parthenogenesis . </P>

What are the different types of plant reproduction