Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans as food. In agricultural and culinary terminology, the term applies to true roots such as taproots and tuberous roots as well as non-roots such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and stem tubers.
Carrot roots in various shapes and colors
Taro corms
Ginger rhizomes
Yam tubers
In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the surface of the soil, but roots can also be aerial or aerating, that is, growing up above the ground or especially above water.
Primary and secondary roots in a cotton plant
The cross-section of a barley root
Large, mature tree roots above the soil
Tree roots at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park