Found this on a Plant patent page:
Asexual Reproduction
Asexual reproduction is the propagation of a plant to multiply the plant without the use of genetic seeds to assure an exact genetic copy of the plant being reproduced. Any known method of asexual reproduction which renders a true genetic copy of the plant may be employed. Acceptable modes of asexual reproduction would include but may not be limited to:
Rooting Cuttings
Grafting and Budding
Apomictic Seeds
Bulbs
Division
Slips
Layering
Rhizomes
Runners
Corms
Tissue Culture
Nucellar Embryos
The purpose of asexual reproduction is to establish the stability of the plant. This second step of the invention must be performed with sufficient time prior to application for patent rights to allow the thorough evaluation of propagules or clones of the claimed plant for stability thus assuring that such specimens retain the identical distinguishing characteristics of the original plant.
