We all use the term bulb or corm fairly loosely, I know this can be confusing for those new to gardening. So, let us look at some of the terms used in articles and discussions.
As I often use the term bulbous plant in a broad sense to include the whole range of perennials having storage facilities to ensure their survival over the harsh extremes of seasons, it is high time we defined for the new reader these terms.
The essential characteristic of a bulbous plant is that part of it is swollen so that it can store food and pass the often harsh and unfavourable season underground in a dormant state. At the same time, the stored food enables it to grow up and flower fairly quickly. As soon as the conditions, usually of moisture or warmth, become favourable for growth we see flowers coming for the season.
Among the bulbous plants are found some of the most rewarding garden gems to fill your year with delight and joy.
True Bulbs are the bases of stems enlarged and surrounded by fleshy, food-storing scales, which are actually rudimentary leaves. They usually have an oval or disc shape and a growing point at the central base. Bulbs live from year to year, adding layers of growth in scales. They have a basal plate, a disk like plate on the bottom of the bulb, from which adventitious roots develop when there is sufficient moisture available. After which a terminal bud develops into an ariel shoot which bears flowers and the axillary buds develop into new bulbs. Narcissus is a good example of this.
A corm is a short, often solid, enlarged underground stem in which plant food is stored. It is generally flattened at either one of the poles or at both poles. In a corm we are looking at a solid stem tissue with a growing tip at the apex. Thick roots emerge from the sides, these can be often quite fibrous. Corms differ from bulbs in being made up almost entirely of stem tissue with relatively few scale leaves. Whereas the bulb is almost wholly fleshy scales. Freesia and Gladiolus are good examples of corms.
A tuber is an enlarged underground stem. It differs from a rhizome in its stouter form and shorter internodes. The larger tubers like that of a potato have a lot of buds on their bodies.
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