Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants.
They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season, and as a means of asexual reproduction
Largely composed of starch-storing parenchyma tissue, they constitute the resting stage of various plants and enable overwintering in many species.
Stem Tuber
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 undersides produce roots.
They tend to form at the sides of the parent plant and are most often located near the soil surface.
Potatoes are stem tubers
Root Tuber
A tuberous root or storage root is a modified lateral root, enlarged to function as a storage organ.
The enlarged area of the tuber 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.
Plants with tuberous roots include the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), cassava, and dahlia.
COMMENTS