We tend to think of plants as growing from seeds, but some of them have a far sneakier method. Snap off a small piece, drop it in the soil or toss it into a pond, and it can quietly turn into a whole new plant. That’s wonderful when you’re taking cuttings of a favourite houseplant. It’s not so wonderful when the plant happens to be an invasive weed. These species use tiny fragments to travel, hitching rides on soil, boots, boats and water currents. Here are five that prove how much power a small piece can have.
This small, creeping aquatic plant looks innocent, but it forms dense mats that can crowd out all the other plants in still or slow-moving water. It can grow from the tiniest piece of stem. One of the most unexpected ways it spreads is by sneaking into the garden centre trade, as an unnoticed contaminant in bags of other water plants. A tiny hitchhiker in a pot can end up in a garden pond, and from there, into the wider countryside.
Some of the best regenerators actually do it on purpose. Kalanchoe species, including the one known as mother of thousands, grow tiny baby plantlets along the edges of their leaves. These drop off, land in the soil and root with no help at all. Others, like the familiar patharchatta, will even sprout when a single leaf is placed on damp earth. They’re easy to grow, but they can also quickly take over a pot or a garden bed.