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.

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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

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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

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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

Compare meaning

How does rhizome compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• rhizome vs. rhizoid

Example Sentences

In fall, she cuts the leaves down to about 6 inches above the rhizome.

From Seattle Times • May 11, 2024

“My dream as a teacher,” Haas said, “is when something keeps growing underground, like a rhizome, and then at a different place grows into a different plant.”

From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2024

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

Vertical shoots may arise from the buds on the rhizome of some plants, such as ginger and ferns.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

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

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

• essence
• foundation
• heart
• origin
• seed
• soul
• source
• stem
• stuff