Knolletjes

Knolletjes is a Dutch term meaning small tubers or bulb-like underground storage organs produced by certain plants for storage and vegetative propagation. The word knol is the Dutch for tuber or rounded swelling, and the diminutive suffix -tje signals small size. In horticulture, knolletjes can refer to small tubers formed by a range of perennials and bulbous plants, as well as to the small storage organs of crops that are used to propagate new plants.

These structures may arise from enlarged stems (tubers), modified leaves (bulbs), or other underground organs such as corms, depending on species. They function to store starch and other nutrients to help the plant survive adverse seasons and to enable clonal reproduction by producing new shoots from buds.

In Dutch trade, such small storage organs used for propagation are commonly referred to as knolletjes, especially for ornamental species such as ranunculus and anemone. Planting methods vary by species, but general advice is to plant at a depth roughly equal to the size of the knolletje and keep it evenly moist until shoot emergence; store dry and cool if not planting soon.

Knolletjes are not a strict taxonomic category; they overlap with terms like tubers, bulbs, or corms in botany. They are used primarily in Dutch horticultural practice.