Common Reed (Phragmites australis) rhizome
© Science and Plants for Schools on Flickr
The image shows details of plants of Common Reed (Phragmites australis) growing above high water mark on a beach in Cornwall. Rhizomes are horizontal underground stems. In the first image, spring tides have washed away the sand that originally covered the base of the plant and the rhizomes can be seen. These stems act as a food store as well as a means of vegetative reproduction. In this image you can see that there is a constriction in the rhizome – a node – from which a leafy shoot and adventitious roots arise. The section of rhizome is approximately 10 cm long.
Photo taken on 26 Jun 2006
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