Editing Rhizome

{{Short description|Underground stem in which various plants asexually reproduce via budding}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
[[File:Euphorbia rhizophora2 ies.jpg|thumb|An antique spurge plant, ''[[Euphorbia antiquorum]]'', sending out white rhizomes]]

In [[botany]] and [[dendrology]], a '''rhizome''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|aɪ|z|oʊ|m}} {{respell|RY|zohm}}){{notetag|{{etymology|grc|''{{wikt-lang|grc|ῥίζωμα}}'' ({{grc-transl|ῥίζωμα}})|mass of roots}},<ref>{{LSJ|r(I/zwma|ῥίζωμα|ref}}</ref> {{etymology||''{{wikt-lang|grc|ῥιζόω}}'' ({{grc-transl|ῥιζόω}})|cause to strike root}}<ref>{{LSJ|r(izo/w|ῥιζόω}}</ref>}} is a modified subterranean [[plant stem]] that sends out [[root]]s and [[Shoot (botany)|shoot]]s from its [[Node (botany)|nodes]]. Rhizomes are also called '''creeping rootstalks''' or just '''rootstalks'''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=rhizome {{!}} Description, Functions, & Examples|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/rhizome|access-date=2021-06-15|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> Rhizomes develop from [[axillary bud]]s and grow horizontally. The rhizome also retains the ability to allow new shoots to grow upwards.<ref name=Jang1148>{{cite journal|last=Jang|first=Cheol Seong|title=Functional classification, genomic organization, putatively cis-acting regulatory elements, and relationship to quantitative trait loci, of sorghum genes with rhizome-enriched expression.|journal=Plant Physiology|year=2006|volume=142|issue=3|pages=1148–1159|doi=10.1104/pp.106.082891|display-authors=etal|pmid=16998090|pmc=1630734}}</ref>

A rhizome is the main stem of the plant that runs typically underground and horizontally to the soil surface.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Wilford |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eH2pDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |title=The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Bulbs: The art and science to grow your own bulbs |last2=Gardens |first2=Kew Royal Botanic |date=2019-09-03 |publisher=Frances Lincoln |isbn=978-0-7112-4717-8 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Clarke|first=Richard L. W.|date=2000|title=Root Versus Rhizome: An 'Epistemological Break' in Francophone Caribbean Thought|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23019767|journal=Journal of West Indian Literature|volume=9|issue=1|pages=12–41|jstor=23019767|issn=0258-8501}}</ref> Rhizomes have nodes and internodes and auxiliary buds.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Tim D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2CrlBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 |title=Biology of Adventitious Root Formation |last2=Haissig |first2=Bruce E. |date=2013-11-11 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4757-9492-2 |language=en}}</ref> Roots do not have nodes and internodes and have a root cap terminating their ends.<ref>{{Cite book |last=B.P |first=Pandey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8NOdEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA186 |title=Botany for B.Sc. Students Semester I: Introduction to Microbes and Plant Kingdom (NEP 2020 -Jammu) |publisher=S. Chand Publishing |isbn=978-93-5501-270-8 |language=en}}</ref>  In general, rhizomes have short internodes, send out roots from the bottom of the nodes, and generate new upward-growing shoots from the top of the nodes.  A [[stolon]] is similar to a rhizome, but stolon sprouts from an existing stem having long internodes and generating new shoots at the ends, they are often also called runners such as in the [[strawberry]] plant.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kraehmer |first1=Hansjoerg |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PjAPEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA318 |title=Rhizomes: Hidden Stems with Unknown Diversity |last2=Hesse |first2=Linnea |date=2024-07-29 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-82714-6 |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Corm stolons5680.jpg|thumb|right|[[Stolon]]s growing from nodes from a [[corm]] of ''[[Crocosmia]]'']]

A [[stem tuber]] is a thickened part of a rhizome or stolon that has been enlarged for use as a [[storage organ]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Stern|first=Kingsley R.|title=Introductory Plant Biology|edition=10th|publisher=McGraw Hill|date=2002|isbn=0-07-290941-2}}</ref> In general, a tuber is high in [[starch]], e.g. the [[potato]], which is a modified stolon. The term "tuber" is often used imprecisely and is sometimes applied to plants with rhizomes.

The plant uses the rhizome to store [[starch]]es, [[protein]]s, 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.<ref name=Jang1148 /> If a rhizome is separated, each piece may be able to give rise to a new plant. 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 include [[hops]], [[asparagus]], [[ginger]], irises, [[lily of the valley]], [[Canna (plant)|cannas]], and [[sympodial]] [[orchid]]s.

Stored rhizomes are subject to [[Pathogenic bacteria|bacterial]] and [[fungal infection]]s, making them unsuitable for replanting and greatly diminishing stocks. However, rhizomes can also be produced artificially from [[tissue culture]]s. The ability to easily grow rhizomes from tissue cultures leads to better stocks for replanting and greater yields.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nayak |first1=Sanghamitra |first2=Pradeep Kumar |last2=Naik |title=Factors effecting in vitro microrhizome formation and growth in ''Curcuma longa'' L. and improved field performance of micropropagated plants |journal= Science Asia |year=2006 |volume=32 |pages=31–37 |doi=10.2306/scienceasia1513-1874.2006.32.031|doi-access=free }}</ref> The plant hormones [[ethylene]] and [[jasmonic acid]] have been found to help induce and regulate the growth of rhizomes, specifically in [[rhubarb]]. [[Ethylene]] that was applied externally was found to affect internal ethylene levels, allowing easy manipulations of ethylene concentrations.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Rayirath|first=Usha P|title=Role of ethylene and jasmonic acid on rhizome induction and growth in rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum L.) |journal=Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture|year=2011|volume=105|issue=2|pages=253–263|doi=10.1007/s11240-010-9861-y|s2cid=6630060|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Knowledge of how to use these hormones to induce rhizome growth could help farmers and biologists to produce plants grown from rhizomes, and more easily cultivate and grow better plants.

Some plants have rhizomes that grow above ground or that lie at the soil surface, including some ''[[Iris (plant)|Iris]]'' species as well as [[fern]]s, whose spreading stems are rhizomes. Plants with underground rhizomes include [[Zingiberaceae|ginger]]s, [[bamboo]], [[Dracaena trifasciata|snake plant]], the [[Venus flytrap]], [[Physalis alkekengi|Chinese lantern]], [[western poison-oak]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Hogan |first=C. Michael |date=2008 |url=http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=82914 |title=Western Poison-oak (''Toxicodendron diversilobum'') |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090721044257/http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=82914 |archive-date=2009-07-21 |website=GlobalTwitcher |editor-first=Nicklas |editor-last=Stromberg}}</ref> hops, and ''[[Alstroemeria]]'', and some grasses, such as [[Johnson grass]], [[Bermuda grass]], and [[Cyperus rotundus|purple nut sedge]]. Rhizomes generally form a single layer, but in [[giant horsetail]]s, can be multi-tiered.<ref>{{cite web|last=Husby|first=C.|date=2003|url=http://www.fiu.edu/~chusb001/GiantEquisetum/Ecophysiology.html|title=Ecology and Physiology of the Giant Horsetails|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714044939/http://www.fiu.edu/~chusb001/GiantEquisetum/Ecophysiology.html|archive-date=2009-07-14 |publisher=Florida International University}}</ref>

[[File:Curcuma longa roots.jpg|thumb|right|[[Turmeric]] rhizome, whole and ground into a spice]]

Many rhizomes have culinary value, and some, such as ''[[zhe'ergen]]'', are commonly consumed raw.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lim |first=T.K. |title=Edible Medicinal and Non-Medicinal Plants |edition=11th |publisher=Springer |date=2016 |isbn=978-3-319-26061-7}}{{page needed|date=July 2019}}</ref> Some rhizomes that are used directly in cooking include ginger,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ginger {{!}} plant|url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/ginger|access-date=2020-12-15|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> [[turmeric]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=turmeric {{!}} Description, History, & Uses|url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/turmeric|access-date=2020-12-15|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> [[galangal]],<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1891|title=Chinese Ginger. Alpinia Galanga, Willd.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4114957|journal=Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)|volume=1891|issue=49|pages=5–9|doi=10.2307/4114957|jstor=4114957|issn=0366-4457}}</ref> [[fingerroot]], [[Nelumbo nucifera|lotus]] and [[wasabi]].

==See also==
* [[Aspen]]
* [[Bulb]]
* [[Corm]]
* [[Mycorrhiza]]
* [[Tuber]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{Notefoot}}

==References==
{{Reflist|35em}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Rhizomes}}

{{Botany}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Plant anatomy]]
[[Category:Plant physiology]]
[[Category:Plant reproduction]]
[[Category:Plant roots]]
[[Category:Plant stem morphology]]