A geophyte is an herbaceous plant with an underground storage organ. Storage organs are reserves of carbohydrates, nutrients, and water, and may be classified as bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes, tuberous roots, and enlarged hypocotyls. They evolved as a mechanism for plant survival through adverse climatic conditions, and as a result, geophytes in their natural habitats are capable of perennial life cycles.
During adverse climatic conditions, especially during temperature extremes, the aerial portions of the geophyte die back, leaving only the storage organ in the soil until the temperature is appropriate for above-ground growth. This stage in geophyte development is often referred to as a dormancy period or resting stage; however, such terms are misleading. The storage organ is never physiologically dormant even when aerial growth is halted. It continues to change and constantly senses its environment - like a biocomputer. For ease of communication, the term "dormancy" will be used in this homepage to refer to the period of the bulb life cycle when there is no above-ground tissue, but please bear in mind the warning above.