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rhizome

American  
[rahy-zohm] / ˈraɪ zoʊm /

noun

Botany.

  1. a rootlike subterranean stem, commonly horizontal in position, that usually produces roots below and sends up shoots progressively from the upper surface.

rhizome British  
/ ˈraɪzəʊm, -ˈzəʊ-, raɪˈzɒmətəs /

noun

  1. Also called: rootstock.   rootstalk.  a thick horizontal underground stem of plants such as the mint and iris whose buds develop new roots and shoots

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
rhizome Scientific  
/ rī′zōm′ /

  1. A plant stem that grows horizontally under or along the ground and often sends out roots and shoots. New plants develop from the shoots. Ginger, iris, and violets have rhizomes.

  2. Also called rootstock

  3. Compare bulb corm runner tuber

Other Word Forms

  • rhizomatous adjective

Etymology

Origin of rhizome

1835–45; < New Latin rhizoma < Greek rhízōma root, stem, noun of result from rhizoûn to fix firmly, take root, derivative of rhíza root 1

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Only the blechnum seemed not to have weathered the agonizing collapse: When Baer cut a sample for analysis, he could find no trace of healthy rhizome, or fern stem, as the other plants had.

From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2023

The plant gets its common and genus names from the blood-red fluid that exudes from every part of the plant, including the underground rhizome, when cut.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 4, 2023

She paired the lotus root with charred Brussels sprouts and added a hoisin vinaigrette, taking her mother's suggestions of the crisp freshness the rhizome offered and playing with it to make her own creation.

From Salon • May 26, 2022

These species pose little threat to native wildlife, unlike more domineering introduced species such as mugwort, an herb with an intrepid rhizome system.

From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2021

I know the difference between a raceme and a rhizome, I explicate photosynthesis, I can spell Scrofulariaciae.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.