### plant part | stem:

Aerial stem
* are killed by frost.
* die back after first frost.

### plant part | stem:

Corm
* also have a non-persistent root system that lives only one season
  - nonpersistent root system that lives only one season
* are also food storage centers but are more scaly and solid
  - bulb shaped, underground stem bases with a solid, bottom basal plate
  - dry, hard, and mummified
  - ready for digging about six weeks after they have bloomed
* are ready to dig in four to six weeks after blooms are finished or when the tops die off
  - when the tops have died
  - short, rounded stems with buds located at the top
* are similar to bulbs but are solid when cut rather than possessing rings
  - bulbs, except there are no leaves, only a swollen stem that feeds new growth
* are solid masses of stem tissue
  - tissue, rather than layered like true bulbs
  - stalks
  - stem tissue, modified and developed to store food
* are the base of a stem that becomes swollen and solid with nutrients
  - bulblike bases of the plant's stem
  - undifferentiated, uniform, and contain no rings when cut apart
  - vertical underground stem, and they grow thicker as they continue growing
* divide easily after foliage has died back.
* generally tend to be flatter in shape than round, true bulbs.
* have a basal plate at the bottom and one or more growing points at the top
  - tunic
  - wet, soft rot
  - dark brown to black lesions, which sink inward
* is walnut size or larger.
* look like true bulbs on the outside except they are shorter and more flat
  - similar to bulbs but have some important differences
* rot from the center outward
  - in the field or storage

Corn stalk
* Some corn stalks are part of corn
  - popcorn
* make convenient pole bean supports.
* rot in Iowa.
* snap off at about a foot or two above the ground.

Culm
* Some culms have green stripes between the internodes.
* are green for the first few months, turning black with sunlight by the end of the year
* arise from long underground rhizomes.
* bear four to six leaves.
* bend at nodes.
* can be black, blue, yellow, pink, brown, or green.
* have short internodes, are durable and pest resistant.

### plant part | stem:

Flower stalk
* Most flower stalks have production
  - seed production
* Most flower stalks produce flowers
  - seeds
  - shape flowers
  - reach height
* are a nuisance, and produce small black seeds which sprout everywhere
  - at the leaf axils
  - dwarfed, curled, and twisted
  - long and slender and terminate in a single flower
  - rare with softneck garlic
  - stunted and flowers are malformed
* range from four to seven feet tall.
* shoot up from the plant, rising two feet or more.
* support flowers
  - solitary flowers
* towers over leaves.

Flower stem
* bear flowers
  - single flowers
* have leaves.

Herbaceous stem
* Most herbaceous stems have outer surfaces.
* Most herbaceous stems have smooth outer surfaces
* Some herbaceous stems have buds
  - terminal buds
* are soft, green and flexible
  - the stems of annual, biennial or perennial herbaceous plants
* die back to the ground every year.

Hollow stem
* Most hollow stems grow to height.
* is caused by rapid growth and boron deficiency.

Horizontal stem
* Most horizontal stems produce roots.
* begin to form in the crown and develop into rhizomes or stolons.