The production of an organism, cell or organelle like itself (self propagation).

1. Sexual reproduction: the regular alternation (in the life-cycle of haplontic, diplontic and diplohaplontic organisms) of meiosis and fertilization (karyogamy) which provides for the production of offspring. The main biological significance of sexual reproduction lies in the fact that it achieves genetic recombination.

2. Asexual or agamic reproduction: the development of a new individual from either a single cell (agamospermy) or from a group of cells (vegetative reproduction) in the absence of any sexual process. See also apomixis.