Rhizomes

Rhizomes is a reference work on the characteristics of rhizomes, the stems that grow roughly horizontally below ground. They matter because they let perennial weeds persist and spread, making those weeds hard to control, and because they are used to propagate some commercially important crops. The book describes and compares rhizomes, classifies them by their features, and sets out their ecological and commercial importance.

It is organized into seven parts. After a short introduction, Part I looks at how rhizomes evolved and how they work as organs. Part II covers the rhizomes of basal tracheophytes, formerly called pteridophytes and now known as Lycopodiopsida and Polypodiopsida, or lycophytes and ferns. Part III deals with monocot rhizomes and the wide diversity found among them, and Part IV turns to dicot rhizomes and their range of forms. Part V examines ecological and commercial significance, with particular attention to crops and weeds that have rhizomes. The final part compares findings across plant groups and draws conclusions about how rhizome characters developed and diversified.

Among the topics covered are the difficulty of drawing a clear line between rhizomes, runners, and stolons, and the way the inner cortex cells of rhizomes differ in their sheath modifications. The book also looks at the different kinds of species with stem-borne roots, including dicots whose roots arise from the hypocotyl and plants with roots at nodes, internodes, and buds. It reviews molecular genetics research on the mechanisms and signaling processes behind stolon and rhizome initiation and development, and considers rhizome-producing species that form either large colonies or genetically identical groups, along with the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Two authors with considerable research experience in the field wrote the book, and English-language literature on rhizomes is relatively sparse. It is intended for agronomists, botanists, horticulturists, breeders, ecologists, and weed scientists who want to understand the role of rhizomes in agriculture and food.