Division and Bulb Propagation

Question 1

Thickened area the base of a bulb

Answer 1

Basal plate

Question 2

A specialized underground storage organ composed of a modified bud that includes leaf and flower tissues

Answer 2

Bulb

Question 3

A specialized underground storage organ composed of stem tissue with distinct nodes and internodes

Answer 3

Corm

Question 4

Thickened area at the base of a plant from which shoots and roots emerge

Answer 4

Crown

Question 5

A method of asexual propagation that involves splitting an existing plant into smaller pieces, each of which contains a portion of the parent plant’s crown

Answer 5

Division

Question 6

Plant that survives as a specialized underground storage organ

Answer 6

Geophyte

Question 7

A bulb with loosely arranged scales and without membranous outer scales.

Easily damaged and must be kept continually moist.

Has contractile roots

A.k.a “scaly” bulb

Answer 7

Non-tunicate bulb

Question 8

Section of a rhizome with roots and a terminal flower bud

Answer 8

Pip

Question 9

A unique type of geophyte that is often above ground, grows off of a rhizome, and has a leaf or flower at one end

Answer 9

Pseudobulb

Question 10

An underground stem

Answer 10

Rhizome

Question 11

A method of asexually propagating bulbs that involves removing the basal plate

Answer 11

Scooping

Question 12

A method of asexually propagating bulbs that involves making deep cuts in the basal plate

Answer 12

Scoring

Question 13

An adventitious shoot produced on a fleshy root

Answer 13

Slip

Question 14

A specialized underground storage organ composed of swollen stem tissue that can be propagated by cutting it up into sections containing at least one node

Answer 14

Tuber

Question 15

A specialized underground storage organ composed of root tissue

Answer 15

Tuberous root

Question 16

A bulb with membranous outer bulb scales surrounding fleshy, concentric inner scales used for food storage.

Membranous layer protects the bulb from drying out.

“Laminate” structure

Answer 16

Tunicate bulb

Question 17

A method of asexually propagating tunicate bulbs by splitting the parent bulbs into segments containing two scales and a portion of the basal plate

Answer 17

Twin-scaling

Question 18

Differences between bulbs and corms

Answer 18

Bulbs

• Leaf, steam, AND flower tissue
• Nodes and internodes NOT distinct
• Scale

Corm

• Stem tissue only
• Distinct nodes and internodes (b/c modified stem tissue)
• Solid, no scales

Question 19

Aerial tubers

Answer 19

Tubercles

Question 20

Natural asexual propagation methods for bulbs

Answer 20

Normal offsets
Underground stem bulblets
Aerial stem bulblets (referred to as bulbils)

Question 21

Method of asexually propagating scaly bulbs where a piece of the scale is removed, sealed in plastic bags with moistened media, then left in a dark
place at room temperature for 7 weeks.

Answer 21

Scaling

Question 22

Propagation of Corms

Answer 22

Sexual (seeds)
New corms
Cormels
Corm division
– Large corms
– Each section must contain a bud
Tissue culture

Question 23

Propagation of Tuberous Roots

Answer 23

Crown division

Slip cutting

Question 24

Propagation of Rhizomes

Answer 24

Cut into pieces containing at least one bud

Question 25

Propagation of Pseudobulbs

Answer 25

• Sexual
• Offshoots (keikis; pronounced “kay-key”)
• Division (Should contain > 3 pseudobulbs and one new
  or potentially new lead/growth)
• Removal of back bulbs and green bulbs (Removal from main plant stimulates development of dormant or “latent” buds)
  -> Sphag ‘N Bag method: Place a handful of moistened sphagnum moss in a bag with backbulb)
  -> Sphag no Bag method: Place backbulbs on a
  tray of sphagnum moss
  -> Potted method