Normal people often are puzzled by botanists with their plant terminology. It would seem obvious that underground parts of a plant are roots and parts above ground are stems, but nooooooo—not necessarily so according to the botanists. And as much as we hate to encourage them too much, they actually do have a point. If it has buds or leaves (though not necessarily both), then it's a stem no matter where it's located.
Think of the ever popular onion. What is it, other than a very short,
underground stem with fleshy leaves that make it the gourmand's delight? Calling it
a bulb doesn't change the fact that it's a stem with leaves. Or how about that
favorite of every teenager—the French-fried tuber—uh, potato. Yep, another stem, and
the potato's eyes are really buds. With the shortage of water in our desert region,
many of us are trying to replace Bermuda Grass lawns with water friendly plants. Good
luck! Those pesky runners that so easily sprout into new plants? Botanists call them
rhizomes, a stem by another name!
Contributor: Arthur H. Harris, Laboratory for Environmental Biology, Centennial Museum, University of Texas at El Paso.
Desert Diary is a joint production of the Centennial Museum and KTEP National Public Radio at the University of Texas at El Paso.