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{{Short description|Short plant stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases for food storage and water}} {{About|bulbs as defined botanically|bulbs in the wider gardening sense|Ornamental bulbous plant|other uses}} [[File:Shallots-Whole.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Shallot]] bulbs]] [[File:Amaryllisbulb.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''[[Hippeastrum]]'' (amaryllis) bulb]] In [[botany]], a '''bulb''' is a short [[underground stem]] with fleshy [[leaf|leaves]] or leaf bases<ref>Bell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K.</ref> that function as [[food]] [[storage organ]]s during [[dormancy]]. In [[gardening]], plants with other kinds of storage organ are also called [[ornamental bulbous plant]]s or just ''bulbs''. ==Description== [[File:Red onion cut labelled.svg|thumb|Longitudinal section through bulb]] [[File:Red onion cross section 04.jpg|thumb|Cross section of onion bulb]] The bulb's leaf bases, also known as [[Cataphyll|scales]], generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is a vegetative growing point or an unexpanded flowering shoot. The base is formed by a reduced [[Plant stem|stem]], and plant growth occurs from this basal plate. [[Root]]s emerge from the underside of the base, and new stems and leaves from the upper side. '''Tunicate''' bulbs have dry, membranous outer scales that protect the continuous lamina of fleshy scales.<ref name="Mishra">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=giqdNdoJNQsC |first=S.R. |last=Mishra |title=Plant Reproduction |publisher=Discovery Publishing House |year=2005 |isbn=978-81-7141-955-5 |pages=120β125}}</ref> Species in the genera ''[[Allium]]'', ''[[Hippeastrum]]'', ''[[Narcissus (plant)|Narcissus]]'', and ''[[Tulip]]a'' all have tunicate bulbs. Non-tunicate bulbs, such as ''[[Lilium]]'' and ''[[Fritillaria]]'' species, lack the protective tunic and have looser scales.<ref name="Ellis">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/taylorsguidetobu00elli |url-access=registration |first=Barbara W. |last=Ellis |title=Bulbs |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-618-06890-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/taylorsguidetobu00elli/page/3 3]}}</ref> Bulbous plant species cycle through vegetative and reproductive growth stages; the bulb grows to flowering size during the vegetative stage and the plant flowers during the reproductive stage. Certain environmental conditions are needed to trigger the transition from one stage to the next, such as the shift from a cold winter to spring.<ref name="Mishra"/> Once the flowering period is over, the plant enters a foliage period of about six weeks during which time the plant absorbs nutrients from the soil and energy from the sun for setting flowers for the next year. Vegetative bulbs may be planted like seeds and will sprout into plants. Bulbs dug up before the foliage period is completed will not bloom the following year but then should flower normally in subsequent years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |title=Advances in bulb crops |url=https://www.primescholarslibrary.org/articles/advances-in-bulb-crops.pdf |journal=Department of Agriculture, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.}}</ref> ==Plants that form bulbs== Plants that form underground [[storage organ]]s, including bulbs as well as [[tuber]]s and [[corm]]s, are called ''geophytes''. Some [[Epiphyte|epiphytic]] [[orchid]]s (family [[Orchidaceae]]) form above-ground storage organs called ''[[pseudobulb]]s'', that superficially resemble bulbs.{{cn|date=April 2023}} Nearly all plants that form true bulbs are [[monocotyledon]]s, and include:<ref name=":0" /> * ''[[Amaryllis]]'', ''[[Crinum]]'', ''[[Hippeastrum]]'', ''[[Narcissus (plant)|Narcissus]]'', and several other members of the amaryllis family [[Amaryllidaceae]]. This includes [[onion]], [[garlic]], and other [[allium]]s, members of the Amaryllid subfamily [[Allioideae]]. * [[Lily]], [[tulip]], and many other members of the lily family [[Liliaceae]]. * Two groups of ''[[Iris (plant)|Iris]]'' species, family [[Iridaceae]]: subgenus ''[[Iris subg. Xiphium|Xiphium]]'' (the "Dutch" irises) and subgenus ''[[Hermodactyloides]]'' (the miniature "rock garden" irises). The only [[Eudicots|eudicot]] plants that produce true bulbs are just a few species in the genus ''[[Oxalis]]'', such as ''[[Oxalis latifolia]]''.<ref name="Hartmann">{{cite book |first=Hudson Thomas |last=Hartmann |author2=Dale E. Kester |title=Hartmann and Kester's Plant Propagation: Principles and Practices |edition=7 |publisher=[[Prentice Hall]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-13-679235-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/plantpropagation00hart/page/561 561] |url=https://archive.org/details/plantpropagation00hart/page/561 }}</ref><ref name=OberEmshBellDrey09>{{Cite journal|last1=Oberlander |first1=K. C. |last2=Emshwiller |first2=E. |last3=Bellstedt |first3=D.U. |last4=Dreyer |first4=L.L. |year=2009 |title=A model of bulb evolution in the eudicot genus ''Oxalis'' (Oxalidaceae) |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=54β63 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2008.11.022 |pmid=19070669 |bibcode=2009MolPE..51...54O |name-list-style=amp }}</ref> == Bulbil ==<!-- This section is linked from [[Lilium]] --> {{main|bulbil}} A '''[[bulbil]]''' is a small bulb, and may also be called a '''bulblet''', '''bulbet''', or '''bulbel'''.<ref name=Bell>{{cite book |author=Bell, A.D. |year=1997 |title=Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford, U.K. }}</ref> Small bulbs can develop or propagate a large bulb. If one or several moderate-sized bulbs form to replace the original bulb, they are called '''renewal bulbs'''.<ref name=Bell/> '''Increase bulbs''' are small bulbs that develop either on each of the leaves inside a bulb, or else on the end of small underground stems connected to the original bulb.<ref name=Bell/> Some lilies, such as the tiger lily ''[[Lilium lancifolium]]'', form small bulbs, called bulbils, in their leaf [[axil]]s. Several members of the onion family, Alliaceae, including ''Allium sativum'' ([[garlic]]), form bulbils in their flower heads, sometimes as the flowers fade, or even instead of the flowers (which is a form of [[apomixis]]). The so-called [[tree onion]] (''Allium'' Γ ''proliferum'') forms small onions which are large enough for [[pickling]].{{cn|date=February 2023}} Some ferns, such as [[Asplenium bulbiferum|the hen-and-chicken fern]], produce new plants at the tips of the fronds' pinnae that are sometimes referred to as bulbils. <gallery> Image:Lilium lancifolium bulbils.jpg|Bulbils form in the leaf axils of ''[[Lilium lancifolium]]'' Image:Alliumvineale1web.jpg|Wild garlic (''[[Allium vineale]]'') bulbils sprouting Image:Allium fistulosum bulbifera0.jpg|"[[Tree onion]]s" form clusters of small bulbs instead of flowers </gallery> ==See also== *[[List of flower bulbs]] == References == {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== * Coccoris, Patricia (2012) ''The Curious History of the Bulb Vase''. Published by Cortex Design. {{ISBN|978-0956809612}} {{Commons category|Bulbs|<br>Bulbs|position=left}} {{Clear}} {{Botany}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Plant morphology]] [[Category:Garden plants]] [[Category:Plant reproduction]]
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