User:Tr3ndyBEAR/list of tubers
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
To a botanist, the word "tuber" can refer to two different concepts: a tuberous root (aka a root tuber) or a tuberous stem (aka a stem tuber). The botanic umbrella term for tubers, rhizomes, corms, bulbs, and others is a "geophyte" (aka a storage organ). Geophytes are a special plant part specifically modified to serve the purpose of storing energy (usually in the form of carbohydrates) or water. They often serve as perennating organs, meaning they help the plant survive from one germinating season to the other by storing enough nutrients to survive unfavorable conditions (i.e. cold, excessive heat, droughts, or lack of light).
Types of storage organs
- True roots:
- Root tubers (i.e sweet potato, cassava, yacón) — a modified lateral root. It can be the entire root or simply at the end or in the middle of the root. As a result, it is different in origins but similar in function to a stem tuber.
- Storage taproots (i.e. carrot, turnip, radish, beetroot, rutabega) — a taproot modified into a storage organ.
- Modified stems:
- Stem tuber (i.e potato, yams, oca, tuberous pea, kaffir potato, yellow nutsedge, purple nutsedge) — form from thickened rhizomes or stolons. They are most often located near the soil surface.
- Rhizome (i.e. ginger, turmeric, groudnut) —
- Corm (i.e. ) —
- Pseudobulb (i.e. ) —
- Caudex (i.e. ) —
- Other forms:
- Bulb (i.e. ) —
- Storage hypocotyl (i.e. ) —
Tubers
The following are examples of edible stem and root tubers:
List of edible geophytes
- Alpinia galanga (lengkuas, greater galangal, blue ginger, galangal)
- Alpinia officinarum (lesser galangal, galangal)
- Apios americana (potato bean, hopniss, Indian potato, hodoimo, America-hodoimo, cinnamon vine, American groundnut, groundnut) — southern Canada, Florida, and as far west as Colorado
- Basella alba (Malabar spinach, vine spinach, Ceylon spinach) — tropical Asia and Africa
- Boesenbergia rotunda (Chinese keys, fingerroot, lesser galangal, Chinese ginger, galangal)
- Bunium bulbocastanum (great pignut, earthnut) — western Europe
- Conopodium majus (kippernut, cipernut, arnut, jarnut, hawknut, earth chestnut, groundnut, earthnut, pignut, hognut, Saint Anthony's nut) — Europe and North Africa
- Kaempferia galanga (kencur, aromatic ginger, sand ginger, cutcherry, resurrection lily, galangal)
- Lathyrus tuberosus (tuberous pea, tuberous vetchling, earthnut pea, aardaker, tine-tare) — temperate parts of Europe and Western Asia
- Macrotyloma geocarpum (ground bean, geocarpa groundnut, Hausa groundnut, Kersting's groundnut, la lentil de terra) — sub-Saharan Africa
- Mirabilis expansa (mauka, chago) — the Andes
- Oxalis tuberosa (uqa, oca, New Zealand yam) — central and southern Andes
- Panax trifolius (dwarf ginseng) — Northeastern and Appalachian regions of North America
- Plectranthus esculentus (kaffir potato, Livingstone potato) — southern tropical Africa
- Plectranthus rotundifolius (native potato, country potato, Chinese potato, Hausa potato, Sudan potato) — tropical Africa
- Tropaeolum tuberosum (mashua, mashwa, añu, maswallo, isaño, mazuko, cubio, mascho, nabu) — the Andes
- Vigna subterranea (Bambara nut, Bambara-bean, Congo goober, earth pea, ground-bean, or hog-peanut) — West Africa
Storage taproots
Root tubers
Stem tubers
- Solanum tuberosum (potato) — native to Americas, domesticated in the Andes
Rhizomes
Corms
Caudex
Psuedobulbs
Bulbs
Storage hypocotyl
Further reading
External links
- https://cipotato.org/roots-and-tubers/
- https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/V1-428.html
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239602353_Promoting_the_Conservation_and_Use_of_Underutilized_and_Neglected_Crop
- https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/02/spud-s-you-breeding-revolution-could-unleash-potential-potato#
- https://www.cultivariable.com/category/genetics/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/dining/14spuds.html
- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/29/how-perus-potato-museum-could-stave-off-world-food-crisis