Comment: We avoided vague terms, such as stolon, corm, layer and rootstock, which have very different meaning with individual authors. The rhizome is defined as any below-ground stem. Plant names follow Ehrendorfer (1973). Long-lived organs senesce after more than 2 years, short-lived ones earlier.
A. Root-derived organs of clonal growth (1-4)
- 1. “Trifolium pratense” type. Main (tap) root of the primary root system without adventitious roots and buds. Vegetative spreading is poor.
- 2. “Alliaria petiolata” type. Main root of the primary root system with adventitious buds.
- 3. “Rumex acetosella” type. Lateral roots of the primary root system or adventitious roots with adventitious buds.
- 4. “Ranunculus ficaria” type. Root tubers.
B. Stem-derived organs of clonal growth (5-20a)
Ba. Long-lived stems (5-10)
Ba1. Stems growing above-ground (5)
- 5. “Lycopodium annotinum” type. Creeping stems.
Ba2. Stems growing below-ground (6-10)
- 6. “Festuca ovina” type. Below-ground stems formed above-ground. Turf graminoids.
- 7. “Rumex obtusifolius” type. Below-ground stems formed above-ground. Stems < 10 cm in length.
- 8. “Rumex alpinus” type. Below-ground stems formed above-ground. Stems > 10 cm in length.
- 9. “Dactylis glomerata” type. Below-ground stems formed below-ground. Stems < 10 cm in length.
- 10. “Aegopodium podagraria” type. Below-ground stems formed below-ground. Stems > 10 cm in length.
Bb. Short-lived stems (11-13)
- 11. “Fragaria vesca” type. Plagiotropic above-ground stems specialised in spreading.
- 12. “Caltha palustris” type. Below-ground stems formed above-ground.
- 13. “Galium odoratum” type. Below-ground stems formed below-ground.
Bc. Below-ground tubers (14-17a)
- 14. “Calystegia sepium” type. Annual below-ground tubers on distal part of plagiotropic above-ground stems.
- 15. “Lycopus europaeus” type. Annual below-ground tubers on distal part of below-ground stems.
- 15a. “Adoxa moschatellina” type. Annual below-ground tubers on distal part of below-ground stems with thickened scale leaves or leaf bases.
- 16. “Corydalis solida” type. Mother and daughter below-ground tubers annual and attached.
- 16a. “Colchicum autumnale” type. Daughter tuber attached to the mother tuber; daughter tuber much smaller than the mother tuber.
- 17. “Corydalis cava” type. A single perennial below-ground stem tuber.
- 17a. “Bolboschoenus maritimus” type. Perennial tubers on below-ground stem which is formed in the below-ground.
Bd. Bulbs (18-20a)
- 18. “Galanthus nivalis” type. Daughter bulb formed inside the mother bulb; daughter bulb of the same size as the mother bulb.
- 19. “Ornithogalum gussonei” type. Daughter bulb formed inside the mother bulb; daughter bulb much smaller than the mother bulb.
- 20. “Tulipa sylvestris” type. Bulb formed on distal part of a below-ground stem.
- 20a. “Allium montanum” type. Below-ground stem preserved behind the bulb.
C. Special adaptations (21-27)
- 21. “Polygonum viviparum” type. Pseudovivipary.
- 22. “Cardamine pratensis” type. Gemnipary (adventitious buds on leaves).
- 23. “Dentaria bulbifera” type. Axillary buds.
- 24. “Aldrovanda vesiculosa” type. Turions.
- 25. “Lemna gibba” type. Budding plants.
- 26. “Elodea canadensis“ type. Plant fragments.
- 27. “Butomus umbellatus“ type. Buds on below-ground stem which may be detached.