Gemma (botany)

These structures are commonly found in fungi, algae, liverworts and mosses, but also in some flowering plants such as pygmy sundews and some species of butterworts.

[1][2][page needed] Vascular plants have many other methods of asexual reproduction including bulbils and turions.

In liverworts such as Marchantia, the flattened plant body or thallus is a haploid gametophyte with gemma cups scattered about its upper surface.

Meanwhile, the apical cells present in the two lateral notches become active and form two thalli in opposites directions.

Endogenous gemmae are also produced in liverworts, these are ovoid or ellipsoidal shaped, 2 celled at leaf tips or margins.

Pygmy sundew Drosera roseana with gemmae.
Liverworts Marchantia with round cups, and Lunularia with crescent cups, both containing gemmae. Gemmae dislodged by rain are visible at the bottom of the image.