ABSTRACT
A plant’s life cycle can be seen to end with the process of senescence (p163) and dying. The time taken to get to this point varies enormously from one species to another with many ephemerals living for only a few months, whereas many trees last for hundreds of years. Before it dies the plant has normally ensured continued life by either sexual or asexual reproduction: not many plants employ both methods to produce offspring. Sexual reproduction leads to the formation of seeds in higher plants (see p67). The ability of plants to reproduce asexually is used in horticulture as vegetative propagation.
