Examples of Plants That Grow From Bulbs

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Plant bulbs are the gardening equivalent of birds' eggs. Instead of baby birds, however, they contain baby plants, and instead of yolks, they contain nutritious plant
tissue to feed the new plants as they sprout and grow leaves to begin photosynthesizing. They also store food to feed future plants before going dormant each year.
Gardeners have a choice of hundreds of colorful and fragrant bulb varieties to brighten their gardens from spring to fall.
Turk's Cap Lily
Turk's cap lily (Lilium superbum) grows wild in swamps, woods and wet meadows from southern New Hampshire south to Alabama and west to Arkansas. It's known
for abundant blooms, with 40 documented on a single plant. Hardy to winter temperatures of minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit and higher, this lily grows between 4 to 7
feet tall. It blooms between July and September with burgundy-spotted orange flowers. Tepals (petals and sepals) of the downward-facing blooms curve back to reveal
long stamens with deep brown or black anthers. The Missouri Botanical Garden recommends this bulb for borders, native plant gardens and low wet areas. Plant in a
moist to wet location with well-drained sand or loam soil and full to partial sun.
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Montbretia
Montbretia (Crocosmia), a southern African bulb hardy to winter temperatures of minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit, reaches up to 3 feet high and 18 inches wide. It's a
clumping plant with sword-like green leaves up to 2 feet long. In July and August, montbretia's branching stems produce ascending vivid red-orange buds that open
from the top down. Montbretia, according to the Missouri Botanical Garden, accepts full sun where summers are cool. In hot areas, provide it with afternoon shade.
Plant bulbs--after the last spring frost--3 to 4 inches deep and 6 inches apart. They need in moist, acidic, organically rich well-drained soil. Lift them the fall where
winters are severe. Store them in dry medium and a cool location.
Lily of the Incas
Lily of the Incas (Alstromeria) is a Chilean native bulb plant. With winter protection, it's hardy to USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7 (minimum temperatures of 0 degrees
Fahrenheit and higher). Standing up to 3 feet high and 2 feet wide, it has dense, elliptical 2-to-4-inch green leaves. In June and July, its stems bear long-lasting clusters
of trumpet-shaped blooms. Yellow, orange and purple varieties, often splotched with contrasting colors, are available. Plant Lily of the Incas in a sunny location with
light afternoon shade where summers are especially hot. It likes rich, averagely moist well-drained soil. Lilies grown as container plants will overwinter indoors with
minimal watering. Lift those in the ground carefully--their roots are brittle--and bring them indoors them for storage in moist soil and a cool spot, advises the Missouri
Botanical Garden.

Types Of Flower Bulbs Learn About Different Bulb Types

By Bonnie L. Grant

Plants propagate from many sources. Seeds are the most common way but they also reproduce through offsets, corms, rhizomes, tubers and bulbs.
Bulbs are underground storage structures that carry both the genetic starting material for the plant but also a food supply to get it going. There are five
different types of bulbs but only one true bulb. The different bulb types are more accurately called geophytes and encompass a wide range of plant
types.

True Bulb Basics

The true bulb is a layered structure filled with plant carbohydrates with a plant shoot in the core. It has a basal plate where roots grow, fleshy scales or
layers, the outer skin, the shoot at the center flanked by developing bulbets. Common spring bulbs, likedaffodils and tulips, are true bulbs.

There are two different types of bulbs which are in the true bulb category.

Tunicate bulbs all have the outer skin or tunic. This papery cover protects the interior scales where the food sources are stored. Tulips are a good
example of this type of bulb.
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Imbricate bulbs, like lilies, do not have the paper covering. This type of bulb must stay moist prior to planting.

Different Bulb Types

Many underground storage structures are also called bulbs but they are not true bulbs. These include corms, tubers and rhizomes. Each of these is
also filled with carbohydrate sugars to fuel plant growth and development.

Corms Corms are similar in appearance to bulbs but are solid inside. Crocosmiagrows from corms, which spread rapidly and
easily, as do gladiolus, crocus andfreesia.

Tubers A tuber is a swollen stem with growth nodes or eyes. Daylilies and cyclamen are examples of tuber types of flower bulbs. Tubers are
propagated by planting a piece of the tuber with several healthy eyes. There are exotic and urbane types of flower bulbs, with a variety suitable for
nearly every gardening situation.
 Tuberous roots There are also tuberous roots, like tuberous begonia, which are thickened roots that hold food
sources.

Rhizomes Rhizomes are another of the bulb plant types. They are simply underground stems that also store plant
food and can sprout new growth. Common plants having rhizomes are irises. You can see the rhizomes on old stands of iris, as the large roots get
pushed up out of the soil. They are easy to pull apart and start new plants.

Bulbets/bulbils There is another bulb-type structure called bulbet, or bulbil. These are the tiny round organs found
growing on the tops of Alliums and related plants.

Bulb Plant Types

Not only flowering plants spring from bulbs and other storage structures. Potatoes come from tubers,bamboo arises from rhizomes and elephant ear
plants have tuberous bulb-like structures. While not technically considered bulbs, hostas are also commonly grouped with other bulbous type plants.

The most well known, however, are the flowering types. The wide variety in types of flower bulbs speaks to natures wisdom in providing variety and
adaptability in her plants.

This article is about bulbs as defined botanically. For bulbs in the wider gardening sense, see Ornamental bulbous plant. For other uses, see Bulb
(disambiguation).

Shallot bulbs

Hippeastrum (amaryllis) bulb

In botany, a bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases[1] that function as food storage organs during dormancy. (Ingardening, plants with
other kinds of storage organ are also called "ornamental bulbous plants" or just "bulbs".)

A bulb's leaf bases, also known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse weather
conditions. At the center of the bulb is a vegetative growing point or an unexpanded flowering shoot. The base is formed by a stem, and plant growth
occurs from this basal plate. Roots emerge from the underside of the base, and new stems and leaves from the upper side. Tunicate bulbs have dry,
membranous outer scales that protect the continuous lamina of fleshy scales.[2]Species in the genera Allium, Hippeastrum, Narcissus, and Tulipa all
have tunicate bulbs. Non-tunicate bulbs, such as Lilium andFritillaria species, lack the protective tunic and have looser scales.[3]

Longitudinal section through bulb

Cross section of onion bulb

Other types of storage organs (such as corms, rhizomes, and tubers) are sometimes referred to as bulbs, although as the term is used in botany, they
are not. The technical term for plants that form underground storage organs, including bulbs as well as tubers and corms, is geophyte.
Some epiphytic orchids (family Orchidaceae) form above-ground storage organs called pseudobulbs, that superficially resemble bulbs.

Nearly all plants that form true bulbs are monocotyledons, and include:

Amaryllis, Crinum, Hippeastrum, Narcissus, and several other members of the amaryllis family Amaryllidaceae. This includesonion, garlic, and
other alliums, members of the Amaryllid subfamily Allioideae.
Lily, tulip, and many other members of the lily family Liliaceae.
Two groups of Iris species, family Iridaceae: subgenus Xiphium (the "Dutch" irises) and subgenus Hermodactyloides (the miniature "rock garden"
irises).

Oxalis, in the family Oxalidaceae, is the only dicotyledon genus that produces true bulbs.[4][5]

Bulbous plant species cycle through vegetative and reproductive growth stages; the bulb grows to flowering size during the vegetative stage and the
plant flowers during the reproductive stage. Certain environmental conditions are needed to trigger the transition from one stage to the next, such as
the shift from a cold winter to spring.[2] Once the flowering period is over, the plant enters a foliage period of about six weeks during which time the plant
absorbs nutrients from the soil and energy from the sun for setting flowers for the next year. Bulbs dug up before the foliage period is completed will not
bloom the following year but then should flower normally in subsequent years.

After the foliage period is completed, bulbs may be dug up for replanting elsewhere. Any surface moisture should be dried, then the bulbs may be
stored up to about 4 months for a fall planting. Storing them much longer than that may cause the bulbs to dry out inside and become nonviable.

Bulbil[edit]

A bulbil is a small bulb, and may also be called a bulblet, bulbet, or bulbel.[6]

Small bulbs can develop or propagate a large bulb. If one or several moderate-sized bulbs form to replace the original bulb, they are called renewal
bulbs.[6] Increase bulbs are small bulbs that develop either on each of the leaves inside a bulb, or else on the end of small underground stems
connected to the original bulb.[6]

Some lilies form small bulbs, called bulbils, in their leaf axils. Several members of the onion family, Alliaceae, including Allium sativum(garlic), form
bulbils in their flower heads, sometimes as the flowers fade, or even instead of the flowers. The so-called tree onion (Allium cepa var. proliferum) forms
small onions which are large enough for pickling.

Some ferns, such as Hen and Chicken Fern produce new plants at the tips of the fronds' pinnae, which are sometimes referred to as bulbils.

Bulbils form in the leaf axils of Lilium lancifolium

Wild garlic (Allium vineale) bulbils sprouting

"Tree onions" form clusters of small bulbs instead of flowers

Corm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Taro corms for sale in a Runion market

A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organused by some plants to survive
winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (estivation).
The word cormous is used to describe plants growing from corms, in analogy to the use of the terms "tuberous" and "bulbous" to describe plants
growing from tubers and bulbs.[1]
Crocosmia corm with the tunic partly stripped to show its origin at the nodes on the corm cortex

Crocosmia corm anatomy, showing tunic, cortex of storage tissue, central medulla, and emergence of a new corm from a bud near the top.

Crocosmia corm with stolonsemerging through the tunic. The stolons originate at the axillary buds of the corm scales, and generally produce new

corms at their tips

A corm consists of one or more internodes with at least one growing point, generally with protective leaves modified into skins or tunics. The tunic of a
corm is formed from dead petiolesheaths, remnants of leaves produced in previous years. They act as a covering, protecting the corm from insects,
digging animals, flooding, and water loss. The tunics of some species are thin, dry, and papery, at least in young plants, however, in some families,
such as Iridaceae, the tunic of a mature corm can be formidable protection. For example, some of the larger species of Watsoniaaccumulate thick, rot-
resistant tunics over a period of some years; the product is a structure of tough, reticulated fibre. Other species, such as many in the
genus Lapeirousia, have tunics of hard, woody layers.[2]
Internally a typical corm mostly consists of parenchyma cells rich in starch, above a circular basal node from which roots grow.
Long-lived cormous plants vary in their long-term development. Some regularly replace their older corms with a stack of younger corms, increased
more or less seasonally. By splitting such a stack before the older corm generations wither too badly, the horticulturist can exploit the individual corms
for propagation. Other species seldom do anything of that kind; their corms simply grow larger in most seasons. Yet others split when multiple buds
or stolons on a large corm sprout independently, forming a tussock.
Corms can be dug up and used to propagate or redistribute the plant (see, for example, taro). Plants with corms generally can be propagated by cutting
the corms into sections and replanting. Suitably treated, each section with at least one bud usually can generate a new corm.
Comparison to bulbs[edit]
Corms are sometimes confused with true bulbs; they are often similar in appearance to bulbs externally, and thus erroneously called bulbs. Corms are
stems that are internally structured with solid tissues, which distinguishes them from bulbs, which are mostly made up of layered fleshy scales that are
modified leaves. As a result, when a corm is cut in half it is solid, but when a true bulb is cut in half it is made up of layers.[3] Corms are structurally plant
stems, with nodes and internodes with buds and produce adventitious roots. On the top of the corm, one or a few buds grow into shoots that produce
normal leaves and flowers.

Gladiolus corm, showing the formation of small cormels at the ends of short stolons

Cormels[edit]

Corms can form many small cormlets called cormels, from the basal areas of the new growing corms, especially when the main growing point is
damaged. They are used to propagate corm-forming plants. Corms of a number of species of plants are replaced every year by the plant with growth of
a new corm; this process starts after the shoot has developed fully expanded leaves. The new corm forms at the shoot base just above the old corm.
As the new corm is growing, short stolons are produced that end with the newly growing small cormels. As the plants grow and flower, the old corm is
used up and shrivels away. The new corm that replaces the old corm grows in size, especially after flowering is done.
The old corm produces the greatest number of cormels when it is close to the soil surface. The small cormels normally take one or two more years of
growth before they are large enough to flower.
Cormels do have a reproductive function, but in the wild they also are important as a survival strategy. In most countries wheregeophytes are common,
so are animals that feed on them, whether from above like pigs, or from below like bulb weevils, mole rats, or pocket gophers. Such animals eat
through protective tunics, but they generally will miss several cormels that remain in the soil to replace the plant consumed. Plants such
as Homeria, Watsonia and Gladiolus, genera that are vulnerable to such animals, are probably the ones that produce cormels in the greatest numbers
and most widely distributed over the plant. Homeria species produce bunches of cormels on underground stem nodes, and Watsonia meriana for
example actually produces cormels profusely from under the bracts on the inflorescences.[4]

Roots[edit]

Many corms produce two different types of roots. Those growing from the bottom of the corm are normal fibrous roots, they are formed as the shoots
grow, and are produced from the basal area at the bottom of the corm. The second type of roots are thicker layered roots that form as the new corms
are growing, they are called contractile roots and they pull the corm deeper into the soil. In some species contractile roots are produced in response to
fluctuating soil temperatures and light levels. In such species, once the corm is deep enough within the soil where the temperature is more uniform and
there is no light, the contractile roots no longer grow and the corm is no longer pulled deeper into the soil. In some other species however, contractile
roots seem to be a defence against digging animals and can bury the corm surprisingly deeply over the years. Wurmbea marginata[4] is one example of
a small plant that can be challenging to dig unharmed out of a hard, clayey hillside.

Cormous plants[edit]

Cultivated plants that form corms include:

Alismataceae
Sagittaria spp. (arrowhead or wapatoo)
Araceae
Arisaema
Taro (Colocasia esculenta, Alocasia macrorrhiza)
 Xanthosoma spp. (malanga, cocoyam, tannia, and other names)
Konjac
Pulaka (Cyrtosperma merkusii)
Asparagaceae
Bessera
Brodiaea
Dichelostemma
Milla

Tecophilaea
Asteraceae
Liatris
Colchicaceae
Colchicum
Cyperaceae
Eleocharis dulcis (Chinese water chestnut)
Iridaceae
Crocosmia (Montbretia)
Crocuses, including the saffron crocus (Crocus spp.)
Dierama
Freesia
Gladiolus
Some species of irises (Iris spp.)
Romulea
Musaceae
Bananas (Musa spp.)[5]
Ensete spp. (enset) Tuber
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For fungal genus, see Tuber (fungus). For the community in California, see Tuber, California.

Tuber is Latin for "swelling", as also used for benign tumours such as in tuberous sclerosis

Oca tubers

Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry
months, to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season, and as a means of asexual reproduction.[1] Some sources
define the term "tuber" to mean only structures derived from stems;[2] others use the term for structures derived from stems or roots.[3]

Stem tubers[edit]

A stem tuber forms from thickened rhizomes or stolons. The top sides of the tuber produce shoots that grow into typical stems and leaves and
the under sides produce roots. They tend to form at the sides of the parent plant and are most often located near the soil surface. The below-
ground stem tuber is normally a short-lived storage and regenerative organ developing from a shoot that branches off a mature plant. The
offspring or new tubers, are attached to a parent tuber or form at the end of a hypogeogenous rhizome. In the autumn the plant dies except for the
new offspring stem tubers which have one dominant bud, which in spring regrows a new shoot producing stems and leaves, in summer the tubers
decay and new tubers begin to grow. Some plants also form smaller tubers and/or tubercules which act like seeds, producing small plants that
resemble (in morphology and size) seedlings. Some stem tubers are long lived such as those of tuberous begonia but many tuberous plants have
tubers that survive only until the plants have fully leafed out, at which point the tuber is reduced to a shriveled up husk.
Stem tubers generally start off as enlargements of the hypocotyl section of a seedling but also sometimes include the first node or two of
the epicotyl and the upper section of the root. The stem tuber has a vertical orientation with one or a few vegetative buds on the top and fibrous
roots produced on the bottom from a basal section, typically the stem tuber has an oblong rounded shape.
Tuberous begonia, yams,[4][5] and Cyclamen are commonly grown stem tubers. Mignonette vine (Anredera cordifolia) produces aerial stem tubers
on 12-to-25-foot-tall (3.7 to 7.6 m) vines, the tubers fall to the ground and grow. Plectranthus esculentus of the mint family Lamiaceae, produces
tuberous under ground organs from the base of the stem, weighing up to 1.8 kg per tuber, forming from axillary buds producing short stolons that
grow into tubers.[6]
Potatoes[edit]
Main article: Potato

Potatoes are stem tubers. Enlarged stolons thicken to develop into storage organs.[7][8][9]
The tuber has all the parts of a normal stem, including nodes and internodes. The nodes are the eyes and each has a leaf scar. The nodes or
eyes are arranged around the tuber in a spiral fashion beginning on the end opposite the attachment point to the stolon. The terminal bud is
produced at the farthest point away from the stolon attachment and tubers thus show the same apical dominance as a normal stem. Internally, a
tuber is filled with starch stored in enlarged parenchyma like cells. The inside of a tuber has the typical cell structures of any stem, including a pith,
vascular zones, and a cortex.
The tuber is produced in one growing season and used to perennialize the plant and as a means of propagation. When fall comes, the above-
ground structure of the plant dies, but the tubers survive over winter underground until spring, when they regenerate new shoots that use the
stored food in the tuber to grow. As the main shoot develops from the tuber, the base of the shoot close to the tuber produces adventitious roots
 and lateral buds on the shoot. The shoot also produces stolons that are long etiolated stems. The stolon elongates during long days with the
presence of high auxins levels that prevent root growth off of the stolon. Before new tuber formation begins, the stolon must be a certain age. The
enzyme lipoxygenase makes a hormone, jasmonic acid, which is involved in the control of potato tuber development.
The stolons are easily recognized when potato plants are grown from seeds. As the plants grow, stolons are produced around the soil surface
from the nodes. The tubers form close to the soil surface and sometimes even on top of the ground. When potatoes are cultivated, the tubers are
cut into pieces and planted much deeper into the soil. Planting the pieces deeper creates more area for the plants to generate the tubers and their
size increases. The pieces sprout shoots that grow to the surface. These shoots are rhizome-like and generate short stolons from the nodes while
in the ground. When the shoots reach the soil surface, they produce roots and shoots that grow into the green plant.

Root tubers[edit]

Freshly dug sweet potato plants with tubers.

A tuberous root or storage root, is a modified lateral root, enlarged to function as a storage organ. The enlarged area of the root-tuber, or storage
root, can be produced at the end or middle of a root or involve the entire root. It is thus different in origin but similar in function and appearance to
a stem tuber. Examples of plants with notable tuberous roots include the sweet potato, cassava, and dahlia.
Root tubers are perennating organs, thickened roots that store nutrients over periods when the plant cannot actively grow, thus permitting survival
from one year to the next. The massive enlargement of secondary roots typically represented by Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas), have the
internal and external cell and tissue structures of a normal root, they produce adventitious roots and stems which again produce adventitious
roots.[10]
In root-tubers, there are no nodes and internodes or reduced leaves. Root tubers have one end called the proximal end, which is the end that was
attached to the old plant; this end has crown tissue that produces buds which grow into new stems and foliage. [11] The other end of the root tuber
is called the distal end, and it normally produces unmodified roots. In stem tubers the order is reversed, with the distal end producing stems.
Tuberous roots are biennial in duration: the first year the plant produces root-tubers, and at the end of the growing season, the plant shoots often
die, leaving the newly generated tubers. The next growing season, the root-tubers produce new shoots. As the shoots of the new plant grow, the
stored reserves of the root-tuber are consumed in the production of new roots, stems, and reproductive organs; any remaining root tissue dies
concurrently to the plant's regeneration of next generation of root-tubers.
Hemerocallis fulva plus a number of Daylily hybrids have large root-tubers, H. fulva spreads by underground stolons[12] that end with a new fan
that grows roots that produce thick root tubers and then send out more stolons. [13][14]
Root tubers, along with other storage tissues that plants produce, are consumed by animals as a rich source of nutrients. The root-tubers of
Arrowhead plants of the genusSagittaria are eaten by ducks.[15]
Plants with root tubers are propagated in late summer to late winter by digging up the tubers and separating them, making sure that each piece
has some crown tissue for replanting.

Rhizome
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the botanical term. For other uses, see Rhizome (disambiguation).

Lotus rhizome

An antique spurge plant; Euphorbia antiquorum, sending out rhizomes

Turmeric rhizome and spice

Stolons growing from nodes in cormof Crocosmia.

In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (/razom/, from Ancient Greek: rhzma "mass of roots",[1] from rhiz "cause to strike root")[2] is a
modified subterranean stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also
called creeping rootstalks and rootstocks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and are diageotropic or grow perpendicular to the force of gravity.
The rhizome also retains the ability to allow new shoots to grow upwards.[3]
If a rhizome is separated into pieces, each piece may be able to give rise to a new plant. The plant uses the rhizome to store starches,proteins, and
other nutrients. These nutrients become useful for the plant when new shoots must be formed or when the plant dies back for the winter.[3] This is a
process known as vegetative reproduction and is used by farmers and gardeners to propagate certain plants. This also allows for lateral spread of
grasses like bamboo and bunch grasses. Examples of plants that are propagated this way includehops, asparagus, ginger, irises, Lily of the
Valley, Cannas, and sympodial orchids. Some rhizomes which are used directly in cooking include ginger, turmeric, galangal, and fingerroot.
Stored rhizomes are subject to bacterial and fungal infections making them unsuitable for replanting and greatly diminishing stocks. However rhizomes
can also be produced artificially from tissue cultures. The ability to easily grow rhizomes from tissue cultures leads to better stocks for replanting and
greater yields.[4] The plant hormones ethylene and jasmonic acid have been found to help induce and regulate the growth of rhizomes, specifically
in Rheum rabarbarum (rhubarb). Ethylene that was applied externally was found to affect internal ethylene levels, allowing for easy manipulations of
ethylene concentrations.[5] Knowledge of how to use these hormones to induce rhizome growth could help farmers and biologists producing plants
grown from rhizomes more easily cultivate and grow better plants.
The poplars (species of Populus) are an example of trees that propagate using a rhizome. The Pando colony in Utah is a famous example, which has
been living for about 80,000 years. The rhizome of a poplar colony is the key to its longevity: foragers, insects, fungus, and forest fires may destroy the
above-ground portion of the tree, but the underground rhizome is somewhat protected against these threats.
A stolon is similar to a rhizome, but, unlike a rhizome, which is the main stem of the plant, a stolon sprouts from an existing stem, has long internodes,
and generates new shoots at the end, such as in the strawberry plant. In general, rhizomes have short internodes; they send out roots from the bottom
of the nodes and new upward-growing shoots from the top of the nodes. A stem tuber is a thickened part of a rhizome or stolon that has been enlarged
for use as a storage organ.[6] In general, a tuber is high in starch, for example, the commonpotato, which is a modified stolon. The term tuber is often
used imprecisely, and is sometimes applied to plants with rhizomes.
Some plants have rhizomes that grow above ground or that lie at the soil surface, including some Iris species, and ferns, whose spreading stems are
rhizomes. Plants with underground rhizomes include gingers, bamboo, the Venus Flytrap, Chinese lantern, Western poison-oak,[7] hops,
and Alstroemeria, and the weeds Johnson grass, bermuda grass, and purple nut sedge. Rhizomes generally form a single layer, but in Giant
Horsetails, can be multi-tiered.[8]
Many rhizomes have culinary value, and some, such as zhe'ergen, are commonly consu
Stolon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pingao (Ficinia spiralis) spreads by forming stolons in the sand.

Common Silverweed (Argentina anserina) picture showing red stolons.

In biology, stolons (from Latin stol "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the

organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external skeletons.

Contents
[hide]

In botany, stolons are stems which grow at the soil surface or just below ground that form adventitious roots at the nodes, and new plants from

the buds.[1][2] Stolons are often called runners. Rhizomes, in contrast, are root-like stems that may either grow horizontally at the soil surface or in other

orientations underground.[1] Thus, not all horizontal stems are called stolons. Plants with stolons are called stoloniferous.

A stolon is a plant propagation strategy and the complex of individuals formed by a mother plant and all its clones produced from stolons form a single

genetic individual, a genet.

Morphology[edit]

These stolons from the corm of aCrocosmia are stems that emerged from axillary buds at the nodes of thetunic leaves.

Stolons may or may not have long internodes. The leaves along the stolon are usually very small, but in a few cases such as Stachys sylvatica are

normal in size.[3]
Stolons arise from the base of the plant.[4] In strawberries the base is above the soil surface; in many bulb-forming species and plants with rhizomes,

the stolons remain underground and form shoots that rise to the surface at the ends or from the nodes. The nodes of the stolons produce roots, often

all around the node and hormones produced by the roots cause the stolon to initiate shoots with normal leaves. [5] Typically after the formation of the

new plant the stolon dies away[6] in a year or two, while rhizomes persist normally for many years or for the life of the plant, adding more length each

year to the ends with active growth. The horizontal growth of stolons results from the interplay of different hormones produced at the growing point and

hormones from the main plant, with some studies showing that stolon and rhizome growth are affected by the amount of shady light the plant receives

with increased production and branching from plants exposed to mixed shade and sun, while plants in all day sun or all shade produce fewer stolons.[7]

A number of plants have soil-level or above-ground rhizomes, including Iris species and many orchid species.

T. Holm (1929) restricted the term rhizome to a horizontal, usually subterranean, stem that produces roots from its lower surface and green leaves from

its apex, developed directly from the plumule of the embryo. He recognized stolons as axillary, subterranean branches that do not bear green leaves

but only membranaceous, scale-like ones.[8]

Plants with stolons[edit]

'Lipstick' hybrid strawberry (Comarum palustre Fragaria ananassa) along stolons.

In some Cyperus species the stolons end with the growth of tubers; the tubers are swollen stolons that form new plants.[9]

Some species of crawling plants can also sprout adventitious roots, but are not considered stoloniferous: a stolon is sprouted from an existing stem and

can produce a full individual. Examples of plants that extend through stolons include some species from

the genera Argentina (silverweed), Cynodon, Fragaria, andPilosella (Hawkweeds), Zoysia japonica, Ranunculus repens.

Other plants with stolons below the soil surface include many grasses, Ajuga, Mentha,[10] and Stachys.

Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) has rhizomes that grow stolon-like stems called stoloniferous rhizomes or leptomorph rhizomes. A number of

plants have stoloniferous rhizomes including Asters.[11] These stolon-like rhizomes are long and thin, with long internodes and indeterminate growth

with lateral buds at the node, which mostly remain dormant.

In potatoes, the stolons[12] start to grow within 10 days of plants emerging above ground, with tubers usually beginning to form on the end of the

stolons.[13] The tubers are modified stolons[14] that hold food reserves, with a few buds that grow into stems. Since it is not a rhizome it does not

generate roots, but the new stem growth that grows to the surface produces roots. See also BBCH-scale (potato)

Hydrilla use stolons that produce tubers to spread themselves and to survive dry periods in aquatic habitats. [15]

Erythronium, commonly called Trout Lily, have white stolons growing from the bulb. Most run horizontally, either underground or along the surface of

the ground under leaf litter. A number of bulbous species produce stolons, such as Erythronium propullans. Flowering plants often produce no

stolons.[16]

Convolvulus arvensis is a weed species in agriculture that spreads by under ground stolons that produce rhizomes. [17]

In studies on grass species, with plants that produce stolons or rhizomes and plants that produce both stolons and rhizomes, morphological and

physiological differences were noticed. Stolons have longer internodes and function as means of seeking out light and are used for propagation of the

plant, while rhizomes are used as storage organs for carbohydrates and the maintenance of meristem tissue to keep the parent plant alive from one

year to the next.[18]

 Stolon

This topic is discussed in the following articles:asexual reproduction

Plant reproductive system: Reproduction by special asexual structures

The vegetative, or somatic, organs of plants may, in their entirety, be modified to serve as organs of reproduction. In this category belong such

flowering-plant structures as stolons, rhizomes, tubers, corms, and bulbs, as well as the tubers of liverworts, ferns, and horsetails, the dormant buds of

certain moss stages, and the leaves of many succulents. Stolons are elongated runners, or...

description

Stolon (biology)in biology, a special slender horizontal branch serving to propagate the organism. In botany a stolonalso called a runneris a

slender stem that grows horizontally along the ground, giving rise to roots and aerial (vertical) branches at specialized points called nodes. In

zoology, stolons of certain invertebrate animals are horizontal extensions that produce new individuals by...

potato

PotatoThe stems extend underground into structures called stolons. The ends of thestolons may enlarge greatly to form a few to more than 20 tubers,

of variable shape and size, usually ranging in weight up to 300 grams (10 ounces) but occasionally to more than 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds). The skin varies in

colour from brownish white to deep purple; the starchy flesh normally ranges in colour from white to...

stem structure

Stem (plant)..stems, as in the grape and passionflower. In tropical climates twining plants often form thick woody stems and are called lianas, while in

temperate regions they are generally herbaceous vines. A stolon is a stem that curves toward the ground and, on reaching a moist spot, takes root

and forms an upright stem and ultimately a separate plant. Among the subterranean stems are the rhizome, corm,...

Angiosperm: Shoot system modifications

Slender creeping stems that grow above the soil surface are called stolons, or runners. Stolons have scale leaves and can develop roots and,

therefore, new plants, either terminally or at a node. In the strawberry (Fragaria), the stolons are used for propagation; buds appear at nodes along

the stolons and develop into new strawberry plants.

Plant (biology): Stems..stems surrounded by a few thin scale leaves (as in Crocus and Gladiolus). Bulbs have a greatly reduced stem with thick, fleshy

scale leaves surrounding it (as in the onion). Runners are thin surface stems characteristic of such plants as strawberries; new plants may form on the

runner as it spreads along the ground. Stolons are like runners and extend along the ground....

vegetative structureHorticulture: Vegetative structures

...and crocus are propagated by corms. They may produce new cormels from fleshy buds. Rhizomes are horizontal, underground stems that are

compressed, as in the iris, or slender, as in turf grasses. Runners are specialized aerial stems, a natural agent of increase and spread for such plants

as the strawberry, strawberry geranium, and bugleweed (Ajuga). Tubers are fleshy enlarged portions...

stolon is a specialized type of horizontal above-ground shoot, a colonizing organ that arises from an axillary bud near the base of the plant. The stolon differs from
the typical vegetative shoot of that same plant in having much longer and, typically, thinner internodes, and the horizontal stolon also has a strong tendency to
form adventitious roots at the nodes.

A mother plant produces stolons often in several compass directions, permitting cloning, i.e., vegetative reproduction, by producing young ramets (plantlets) around
the plant. The stolon, connecting mother plant with each ramet, initially provides the pathway for a flow of nutrients and water to the new plantlet, or even some
nutrients from the plantlet back to the mother plant, but that physical connection is eventually severed or becomes dysfunctional as the plantlet develops its nutritional
independence. After the stolons are severed, a mother plant is encircled by satellite plantlets, which soon grow larger, filling in any space between the plants. In this
way, stoloniferous species usually colonize open ground by forming a continuous ground cover, and thereby can exclude other species by crowding them out.
Understandably, therefore, many species that have been domesticated as turfgrasses and ground covers are stoloniferous, forming dense clonal monocultures.

The most common textbook example of a stolon is the strawberry (Fragaria), in which the mother plant forms plantlets on stolons during spring growth. In the case of
strawberry, the stolon is often termed arunner. Some authors treat a runner as a specialized form of the stolon, in which the leaves on the stolon are reduced to very
small or minute scales, in contrast to the stolon, on which some leaf blade can be observed, so that the stolon is actually a photosynthetic unit. By itself, a runner is not
a self-sustaining structure, merely a connector between ramet and mother plant. In both cases, the leaves of the typical vegetative shoot are different from the
stoloniferous shoots, i.e., the plant is heteroblastic.

Many plants that have above-ground stolons also form horizontal, below-ground rhizomes. Good examples of this can be found among grasses, such as bermudagrass
(Cynodon dactylon).

Numerous plants grow by forming stems next to the substrate. If the plant is lying on the substrate but does not form adventitious roots, the growth habit is
termed procumbent. If the plant is lying on the substrate and forms adventitious roots, the growth habit is termed either repent or stoloniferous. Using the term
stoloniferous generally requires that the plant must have two different types of vegetative shoots, not only one type, the creeping shoot.

Examples of Stoloniferous PlantsStoloniferous plants are generally found in habitats where water is abundant or soil is very wet during the
season when stolons are formed. For example, one notable California wetland species that spreads via stolons is yerba mansa, Anemopsis
californica (Family Saururaceae). Widespread stoloniferous herbs of wet habitats are the buttercup Ranunculus flammula (Family
Ranunculaceae) and mudwort, Limosella subulata (Family Scrophulariaceae).

1. Among aquatic plants are the highly successful floating aquatic water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Family Pontederiaceae), in which thick, white
stolons enable this species to clone at an alarming high rate. Other wideranging and highly competitive stoloniferous floating aquatics are water soldier
(Stratiotes aloides) (Hydrocharitaceae), water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes, Family Araceae), Hydrocharis morsus-ranae (Hydrocharitaceae), and Potentilla
palustris (Family Rosaceae). Wetlands also may include marsh claytonia (Claytonia palustris, Family Portulacaceae), tinker's penny (Hypericum
anagalloides, Family Hypericaceae), and the fireweed Epilobium palustre (Family Onagraceae). Myosotis scorpioides is a stolon-like plant of shallow
water. In tidal coastal salt marsh, the fleshy Jaumea carnosa and the saltgrass Distichlis spicata both may spread via stolons.
2. In addition to species of strawberry (Fragaria), other stoloniferous herbs of the rose family (Rosaceae) can be found. Species that appear in the flora of
California are Indian strawberry (Duchesnea indica) and Geum reptans. Rosaceous stoloniferous herbs are successful in a variety of habitats, including
sand dunes and wet mountain meadows. Acaena can be a colonizer of new habitats via stolons.
3. Woodland and high elevation habitats may have stoloniferous species of pussytoes, Antennaria (Family Asteraceae). In the southern Southern
Hemisphere, e.g., in Patagonia, can be found the small-leaved stoloniferous species of Gunnera, e.g., G. magellanica.
4. Saxifraga stolonifera (Family Saxifragaceae) is an interesting shade-loving woodland perennial that forms thin red stolons during spring growth.
5. The cultivated white or Irish potato (Solanum tuberosum, Family Solanaceae) forms its edible tuber at the tip of a stolon. The stolons grows from an
axillary bud at the base of the shoot, and its tip, forming a tuber, becomes buried in the leaf litter and loose soil around the plant, where the tuber
develops.
6. Hens and chickens, Sempervivum (Family Crassulaceae), form dense mats of leaf succulent rosettes via stolons.
7. Grass species commonly used as turfgrass are stoloniferous, and they also spread via aggressive creeping rhizomes.
o Bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon
o St. Augustine grass, Stenotaphrum secundatum
o Some species of bluegrass, including the widely planted Kentucky bluegrass, an annual (Poa annuaP. macrantha, P. douglasii, and P.
confinus. Poa palustris is a stoloniferous species growing along California streams and in wet meadows.
o Agrostis stolonifera, creeping bent grass, is, true to its name, stoloniferous.
o Melica asperifolia is a creeping grass of alkaline meadows and seeps around hot springs.
8. Lawns can be formed by the stolon-producing Dichondra, a dicotyledon. Several other dicotyledons herbs found in the lawns of North America spread via
stolons, including a weedy sorrel, Oxalis corniculatus and the nitrogen-fixing white clover, Trifolium repens.
9. Other stoloniferous species that you may encounter include clump-forming species of Episcia (Family Gesneriaceae) in tropical forests or Shortia (Family
Diapensiaceae) in cool temperate areas.

Both gardeners and plant companies have a tendency to call any roundish, knobby plant root a bulb, but there are distinctions between true bulbs, corms, and
rhizomes. For the most part they are all planted similarly, however there are times when you need to be aware of what it is you are planting. For instance, although the
rule of thumb for planting bulbs is to plant them 2 - 3 times as deep as their circumference, bearded iris, which are rhizomes, would rot is buried that deeply.

What is a Bulb?

Many of the flowering bulbs we plant in the fall are true bulbs. So are onions. A true bulb is an underground stem with fleshy, scale-like layers surrounding a center
bud. Think of the layers when you peel and onion. The scales are food storing leaf bases and they are attached to what is called a basil plate. It's the bottom of the bulb
where the roots come out. The center bud is the future flower.

Bulbs reproduce by forming offset, smaller versions of themselves attached to the basil plate. You can separate these offsets and plant them, to create more plants.

There are 2 Types of True Bulbs:

Tunicate bulbs have a papery outer skin that protects the scales, which are the bulbs food source. Onions and tulips are both tunicate bulbs.
Imbricate or non-tunicate bulbs don't have a papery covering. They remain plump and moist. Lily bulbs are a good example of imbricate bulbs.
Examples of True Bulbs Include: alliums, amaryllis, daffodil, lily, onions, tulip
Rhizomes are also underground stems, but they grow horizontally - and often quickly. Many plants that we think of as aggressive or invasive, for
instance bamboo, grow by rhizomes. But that doesn't make all rhizomatous plants a problem. The bearded iris, shown here, spread slowly and are
easy to keep in check. If there's a plant that spreads by rhizomes that you love, you can always grow it safely in a container.

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Examples of Rhizomes Include: bamboo, calla lily, canna, grass, ground ivy, bearded iris, lily of the valley, waterlily

Tubers are yet another type of swollen stem. There is no basil plate and the outside tends to be leathery. Tubers have eyes, or growth

nodes, from which the new plants grow. To propagate plants all you would need to do is lift the plant and cut off healthy pieces of

tuber, each with about 3 eyes on it.

Examples of tubers include: anemone, cyclamen, caladium, dahlia, daylily, peony,potato

To complicate matters further, there are also tuberous roots, like tuberous begonias.