What Does Basal Mean?
Basal refers to the shoots that grow in proximity to a plant’s trunk, branch, or crown. Also known as a sucker, water sprout, adventitious shoot, or root sprout, a basal is often produced by surculose plants. Depending on the plant, the basal can arise some distance away from its parent plant. In some cases, root sprouts can emerge after a tree has been cut down.
Basal shoots and roots do not grow from the seeds, as is often the case with most plants. In vegetative reproduction, the basal forms an integral part of the plant’s propagation strategy, with the suckers or root sprouts being cloned directly from the original plant.
