by Carissa Davis, Gore Hayer, and Laura Sanchez
Why do some plants look dead part of the year?
Geophytes are perennial plants that have built in storm shelters underground known as a bulbs, corms, tubers or rhizomes. These storage organs allow the plants to store water and nutrients underground to withstand harsh conditions during the winter or dry season, and to propagate themselves.
This table contains information about examples of several different geophytes. Included are: organ type, nomenclature, species, microscope images of type of polysaccharide produced.
Updated: August 08, 2023