Asexual reproduction is an alternative method of reproduction employed by numerous organisms. It has been speculated that asexual reproduction is utilized by individuals that are particularly well suited to a given environment, hence allowing for duplication of individuals that will be successful in that habitat. Within plants there is a wide variety of mechanisms of asexual reproduction, ranging from apomixis (a form of agamospermy) in Poa pratensis to plantlet formation in Kalanchoe diagremontiana. It is a common means of reproduction in numerous angiosperm families. One angiosperm family that displays numerous mechanisms of asexual reproduction is Crassulaceae. Within this family alone there are examples of nodal rooting in Crassula aquatica, plantlet formation from meristematic tissue in crenations of leaf margins in Bryophylum and Kalanchoe, bulbils in species of Crassula, adventitious roots from attached stems in Adromischus and other genera, and adventitious roots from detached stems and leaves in species of Sedum. There is also evidence of stolons and rhizomes in some members of this family. The phylogenetic distribution of the various mechanisms of asexual reproduction within Crassualceae were examined by tracing these features onto a previously published estimate of phylogeny for the family. There is evidence to suggest that certain mechanisms (e.g., stolon formation) have arisen multiple times within the family. However, additional data are required to document the developmental patterns and to assess fully the homology of these asexual mechanisms within the family.

Key words: Asexual reproduction, character evolution, Crassulaceae