Tuber

Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots.

Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduction.

The underground tuber is normally a short-lived storage and regenerative organ developing from a shoot that branches off a mature plant.

The 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.

[7] Even though legumes are not commonly associated with forming stem tubers, Lathyrus tuberosus is an example native to Asia and Europe, where it was once grown as a crop.

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, and thus show the same apical dominance as a normal stem.

The inside of a tuber has the typical cell structures of any stem, including a pith, vascular zones, and a cortex.

Plants with tuberous roots include the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), cassava, dahlia, and Sagittaria (arrowhead) species.

The proximal end of the tuber, which was attached to the old plant, has crown tissue that produces buds which grow into new stems and foliage.

[citation needed] Root tubers are a rich source of nutrients for humans and wild animals, e.g. those of Sagittaria plants which are eaten by ducks.