Underground stem

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Underground stems are modified plant parts that derive from stem tissue but exist under the soil surface. [1] They function as storage tissues for food and nutrients, facilitate the propagation of new clones, and aid in perennation (survival from one growing season to the next). [2] Types of underground stems include bulbs, corms, rhizomes, stolons, and tubers. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Plants have two structures or axes of growth, which can be best seen from seed germination and growth. Seedlings develop two axes of growth: stems, which develop upward out of the soil, and roots, which develop downward. The roots are modified to have root hairs and branch indiscriminately with cells that take in water and nutrients, while the stems are modified to move water and nutrients to and from the leaves and flowers. [8] [9] [10] Stems have nodes with buds where leaves and flowers arise at specific locations, while roots do not. Plants use underground stems to multiply by asexual reproduction and to survive from one year to the next, usually through dormancy. [11] Some plants produce stems modified to store energy and preserve a location of potential growth to survive a cold or dry period which normally is a period of inactive growth, and when that period is over the plants resume new growth from the underground stems. [12] [13] [14] [15]

Being underground protects the stems from the elements during the dormancy period, such as freezing and thawing in winter, extreme heat and drought in summer, or other potentially harmful elements such as fire. They can also protect plants from heavy grazing pressure from animals, the plant might be eaten to the ground but new growth can occur from below ground stem that can not be reached by the herbivores. [16] [17] [18] [19] Several plants, including weedy species, [20] use underground stems to spread and colonize large areas, [21] since the stems do not have to be supported or strong, less energy and resources are needed to produce these stems and often these plants have more mass underground than above ground.

Types of underground stems

Different forms of underground stems include: [22]

A number of underground stems are consumed by people including; onion, potato, ginger, yam and taro. [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30]

The below-ground stems of grasses have scales, while roots are smooth without scales. [31]

Geophyte

A geophyte (earth+plant) is a plant with an underground storage organ including true bulbs, corms, tubers, tuberous roots, enlarged hypocotyls, and rhizomes. Most plants with underground stems are geophytes but not all plants that are geophytes have underground stems. Geophytes are often physiologically active even when they lack leaves. They can survive during adverse environmental conditions by going into a state of quiesce and later resume growth from their storage organs, which contain reserves of carbohydrates and water when the environmental conditions are favorable again. [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulb</span> Short plant stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases for food storage and water

In botany, a bulb is a short underground stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases that function as food storage organs during dormancy. In gardening, plants with other kinds of storage organ are also called ornamental bulbous plants or just bulbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tree fern</span> Ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level

The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae, Dicksoniaceae, Metaxyaceae, and Cibotiaceae. It is estimated that Cyatheales originated in the early Jurassic, and is the third group of ferns known to have given rise to tree-like forms. The others are the extinct Tempskya of uncertain position, and Osmundales where the extinct Guaireaceae and some members of Osmundaceae also grew into trees. In addition there were the Psaroniaceae including Tietea in the Marattiales, which is the sister group to most living ferns including Cyatheales.

<i>Canna</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Canna or canna lily is the only genus of flowering plants in the family Cannaceae, consisting of 10 species. All of the genus's species are native to the American tropics and were naturalized in Europe, India and Africa in the 1860s. Although they grow native to the tropics, most cultivars have been developed in temperate climates and are easy to grow in most countries of the world, as long as they receive at least 6–8 hours average sunlight during the summer, and are moved to a warm location for the winter. See the Canna cultivar gallery for photographs of Canna cultivars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuber</span> Storage organ in plants

Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate, provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhizome</span> Underground stem in which various plants asexually reproduce via budding

In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow horizontally. The rhizome also retains the ability to allow new shoots to grow upwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant hormone</span> Chemical compounds that regulate plant growth and development

Plant hormones are signal molecules, produced within plants, that occur in extremely low concentrations. Plant hormones control all aspects of plant growth and development, including embryogenesis, the regulation of organ size, pathogen defense, stress tolerance and reproductive development. Unlike in animals each plant cell is capable of producing hormones. Went and Thimann coined the term "phytohormone" and used it in the title of their 1937 book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vegetative reproduction</span> Asexual method of reproduction in plants

Vegetative reproduction is a form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment or cutting of the parent plant or specialized reproductive structures, which are sometimes called vegetative propagules.

<i>Phragmites</i> Genus of grasses commonly known as reeds

Phragmites is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant propagation</span> Process of growing new plants

Plant propagation is the process by which new plants grow from various sources, including seeds, cuttings, and other plant parts. Plant propagation can refer to both man-made and natural processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perennial</span> Plant that lives for more than two years

In horticulture, the term is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than two years. The term is also loosely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs, which are also technically perennials. Notably, it is estimated that 94% of plant species fall under the category of perennials, underscoring the prevalence of plants with lifespans exceeding two years in the botanical world.

<i>Nelumbo nucifera</i> Species of aquatic flowering plant

Nelumbo nucifera, also known as Padma, sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often refers to members of the family Nymphaeaceae.

A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have an underground storage organ are called geophytes in the Raunkiær plant life-form classification system. Storage organs often, but not always, act as perennating organs which enable plants to survive adverse conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stolon</span> Horizontal connections between organisms

In biology, stolons, also known as runners, are horizontal connections between parts of an organism. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal stolons are exoskeletons.

<i>Asclepias syriaca</i> Species of flowering plant

Asclepias syriaca, commonly called common milkweed, butterfly flower, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, and Virginia silkweed, is a species of flowering plant. It is native to southern Canada and much of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, excluding the drier parts of the prairies. It is in the genus Asclepias, the milkweeds. It grows in sandy soils as well as other kinds of soils in sunny areas.

<i>Uniola paniculata</i> Species of flowering plant

Uniola paniculata, also known as sea oats, seaside oats, araña, and arroz de costa, is a tall subtropical grass that is an important component of coastal sand dune and beach plant communities in the southeastern United States, eastern Mexico and some Caribbean islands.

Plant reproduction is the production of new offspring in plants, which can be accomplished by sexual or asexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction produces offspring by the fusion of gametes, resulting in offspring genetically different from either parent. Asexual reproduction produces new individuals without the fusion of gametes, resulting in clonal plants that are genetically identical to the parent plant and each other, unless mutations occur.

<i>Osmundastrum</i> Species of fern

Osmundastrum is genus of leptosporangiate ferns in the family Osmundaceae with one living species, Osmundastrum cinnamomeum, the cinnamon fern. It is native to the Americas and eastern Asia, growing in swamps, bogs and moist woodlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant stem</span> Structural axis of a vascular plant

A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, engages in photosynthesis, stores nutrients, and produces new living tissue. The stem can also be called the culm, halm, haulm, stalk, or thyrsus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Succulent plant</span> Plants adapted to arid conditions

In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word succulent comes from the Latin word sucus, meaning "juice" or "sap".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornamental bulbous plant</span> Herbaceous perennials with underground storage parts grown for ornamental purposes

Ornamental bulbous plants, often called ornamental bulbs or just bulbs in gardening and horticulture, are herbaceous perennials grown for ornamental purposes, which have underground or near ground storage organs. Botanists distinguish between true bulbs, corms, rhizomes, stem tubers and tuberous roots, any of which may be termed "bulbs" in horticulture. Bulb species usually lose their upper parts during adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat or winter cold. The bulb's storage organs contain moisture and nutrients that are used to survive these adverse conditions in a dormant state. When conditions become favourable the reserves sustain a new growth cycle. In addition, bulbs permit vegetative or asexual multiplication in these species. Ornamental bulbs are used in parks and gardens and as cut flowers.

References

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  3. ↑ "3: Nasal Olfactory Organs andOlfactory Bulbs in Blennies", The Biology of Blennies, CRC Press, pp. 199–226, 2009-01-05, doi:10.1201/b10301-14, ISBN   9780429063527 , retrieved 2023-09-27
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  5. ↑ Rosenberg, Noah (2016). "From Trees to Rhizomes". Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 59 (2): 246–252. doi:10.1353/pbm.2017.0009. ISSN   1529-8795. PMID   37765717. S2CID   78995989.
  6. ↑ Emschermann, Peter (1987-01-28). "Creeping propagation stolons - an effective propagation system of the freshwater entoproct Urnatella gracilis LEIDY [Barentsiidae)". Archiv für Hydrobiologie. 108 (3): 439–448. doi:10.1127/archiv-hydrobiol/108/1987/439. ISSN   0003-9136. S2CID   89189547.
  7. ↑ Figure 3 in Chapagain, Deep J.; Meilby, Henrik; Ghimire, Suresh K. (2019). "Plant density and life history traits of Aconitum spicatum in North-central Nepal: Effects of elevation and anthropogenic disturbances". PeerJ. 7: e7574. doi: 10.7717/peerj.7574 . PMC   6743441 . PMID   31565560.
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