Significance

• Each vegetative cell in a plant contains the genetic material and potential to differentiate and grow to form another identical plant. Cuttings from plants include root, leaf or stem tissues -- all of which can modify and produce new cells and tissues. For example, a root cutting can differentiate and produce cells that turn green and become stems and leaves, just as much as stem can form cells that become new roots.
  
  

Effects

• Plant hormones within the cells of a cutting, as well as environmental factors like moisture and warmth, are conducive to differentiation, especially at the wound on the plant cutting. These cells can morph to create new dermal, vascular and ground tissues as needed to create a healthy new plant.
  
  

Potential

• Cuttings comprised the most common means of asexual reproduction of plants, according to Jack E. Ingels, author of an ornamental horticulture textbook. Rather than expending time waiting for a plant to flower and produce seed, cuttings create many new plants with roots that possess the exact desirable characteristics of the original plant.