Vegetatively

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner pertaining to reproduction in plants through asexual methods rather than sexual ones
2. In a way that highlights growth processes involving structures like bulbs or rhizomes instead of seed formation
3. In a fashion related to the growth and reproduction of plants through non-sexual, asexual methods rather than the formation of seeds

Etymology: "Vegetatively" is a plain formation: the adjective "vegetative" with the adverbial ending "-ly" attached. The adjective itself comes from "vegetate," which was formed from the Latin "vegetare," meaning to enliven or make active, and which in English came to mean growing as plants do. Its sense narrowed over time to the botanical reproduction described here, so that a plant that spreads by runners or bulbs, rather than by seed, is said to reproduce vegetatively. The adverb therefore describes the manner of that growth: something happens vegetatively when it proceeds without the sexual process of pollination and seed formation. Gardeners rely on this when they take cuttings or divide clumps, since the new plant is a direct continuation of the parent rather than a seedling.

Synonyms: botanically, organically