corm

corm

corm, short, thickened underground stem, usually covered with papery leaves. A corm grows vertically, producing buds at the upper nodes and roots from the lower surface. Corms serve as organs of food storage and in some plants (e.g., crocus and gladiolus) of asexual reproduction; they are often mistakenly called bulbs.

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Corm

 

an underground shoot of a plant with an exterior that resembles a bulb (it is often called a bulb); however, its structure is similar to that of a tuber. The scaly leaves are dry and membranous. The nutritive reserve is stored in the pulpy stem. Corms are found in several plants, including crocuses, gladioli, and saffrons.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

corm

[kȯrm]

(botany)

A short, erect, fleshy underground stem, usually broader than high and covered with membranous scales.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

corm

Botany an organ of vegetative reproduction in plants such as the crocus, consisting of a globular stem base swollen with food and surrounded by papery scale leaves

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005