Bulbil
Small young plant that grows from the parent plant's stem
A bulbil (also referred to as a bulbel, bulblet, and/or pup) is a small, young plant that is reproduced vegetatively from axillary buds on the parent plant's stem or in place of a flower on an inflorescence. These young plants are clones of the parent plant that produced them, they have identical genetic material. The formation of bulbils is a form of asexual reproduction, as they can eventually go on to form new stand-alone plants.
Although some bulbils meet the botanical criterion to be considered a true bulb, there are a variety of different morphological forms of bulbils, some of which are not considered to be bulbs. Hence the reason for distinction between bulbs and bulbils. For example, some bulbous plant groups, like onions and lilies, produce bulbils in the form of a secondary, small bulb. Onion and lily bulbils meet the botanical criterion to be labeled a true bulb. All bulbils produced by bulbous plants are to be considered bulbs, but not all bulbils are to be considered bulbs. For example, other non-bulbous plant groups, like various genera within the subfamily Agavoideae, are well known to produce bulbils that do not actually meet the botanical criterion to be considered a bulb.
01Bulbils in Agavoideae
Within Agavoideae, bulbils develop on the inflorescence of a blooming plant. The development of bulbils in this group is common in approximately 17 Agave species, all Furcraea species, and has been somewhat documented in Yucca (particularly Yucca elata), and Hesperaloe. Bulbils can develop quite quickly, many do so after the flowers die, and can persist on the inflorescence for around one to two years before falling to root in the ground. While still on the parent plant, many species develop adventitious roots and can grow to sizes ranging from 5 to 15 centimeters, if left to mature.
02Examples
- Aconitum columbianum ssp. viviparum
- Agave
- Allium vineale
- Allium paradoxum
- Allium × proliferum (tree onion)
- Allium sativum (garlic)
- Amorphophallus bulbifer
- Asplenium bulbiferum
- Bistorta vivipara
- Cardamine bulbifera
- Cicuta bulbifera
- Claytonia sibirica L. var. bulbifera
- Costus spiral
- Cynorkis uncata
- Cystopteris bulbifera
- Cyperus alternifolius
- Cyperus dentatus
- Dentaria bulbifera
- Dodecatheon hendersonii A. Gray ssp. hendersonii
- Dioscorea bulbifera
- Eleocharis vivipara
- Ficaria verna ssp. bulbifera
- Furcraea hexapetala
- Homeria breyniana
- Kalanchoe daigremontiana
- Lithophragma glabrum
- Leskeaceae nervosa Myr. var. bulbifera
- Lilium bulbiferum
- Lilium lancifolium
- Lysimachia terrestris
- Oxalis inaequalis
- Pinellia ternata
- Saxifraga cernua
- Woodwardia radicans
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Bulbil”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Lilium lancifolium bulbils.jpg by Nadiatalent, Public domain
- Lesser-Celandine Bulbils Close-Up1.jpg by SiGarb, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Bulbil Root Down Crinum Moorei Ooty Jul26 A7CR 12006-35 zsp.jpg by This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author. I would much appreciate if you send me an email tagooty@yahoo.com or write on my talk page, for my information. Please contact me before commercial use. Please do not upload an edited image here without consulting me. I would like to make corrections only at my own source to ensure that the changes improve the image and are preserved. Otherwise you may upload an edited image with a new name. Please use one of the templates derivative or extract., CC BY-SA 4.0
- Allium vineale bulbil 04.jpg by Syrio, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Nitellopsis obtusa bulbil.jpg by Lorenz Seebauer, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Pinellia ternata bulbil.jpg by Enzo^, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Agave vilmoriniana 02.JPG by Valerio b. cosentino, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Paleoallium billgenseli SR 00-05-23 A.jpg by Kevmin, CC BY-SA 4.0
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