corm

Etymology

From scientific Latin cormus, from Ancient Greek κορμός (kormós, “trunk stripped of its boughs”).

noun

1. A short, vertical, swollen, underground stem of a plant (usually one of the monocots) that serves as a storage organ to enable the plant to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as drought.
   The saffron crocus has to be planted by hand from corms. 2002, Victoria Finlay, Colour, Sceptre, published 2003, page 268