View source for Storage organ

A '''storage organ''' is a part of a [[plant]] specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of [[carbohydrate]]s) or [[water]].  Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by [[herbivore]]s.  Underground storage organs and the plants that bear them are sometimes called '''geophytes'''.

In common parlance, underground storage organs may be generically called roots, tubers, or bulbs, but to the botanist these are specific, technical terms, which apply only more narrowly:
* True [[root]]s:
** [[Tuberous root]]
** Storage [[taproot]]
* Modified [[plant stem|stem]]s:
** [[Corm]]
** [[Tuber]]
** [[Rhizome]]
** [[Pseudobulb]]
* Others:
** Storage [[hypocotyl]]
** [[Bulb]]

Storage organs used for food may be generically called [[root vegetable]]s, although this phrase should not be taken to imply that the class only includes true roots.

[[Category:Plant morphology]]