A stolon, commonly referred to as a runner, is an aerial shoot from a plant with the ability to produce adventitious roots and new clones of the same plant. Such plants are called stoloniferous. A stolon is a plant propagation strategy akin to a rhizome. The complex formed by a mother plant and all its clones connected by stolons is considered to form a single individual.
Some species of crawling plants can also sprout adventitious roots, but are not considered stoloniferous : a stolon is sprouted from an existing stem and can produce a full individual. Examples of plants that extend through stolons include some species from the genera Argentina, Cynodon, Fragaria (strawberry), and Pilosella (Formerly Hieracium).
In potatoes, the stolons start to grow within 10 days of plants emerging above ground, with tubers usually beginning to form on the end of the stolons.
Mycology
In mycology, a stolon is defined as an occasionally septate hyphae, which connect sporangiophores together. Rootlike structures called rhizoids may appear on the stolon as well, anchoring the hyphae to the substrate.