gumó

Gumó is a Hungarian botanical term used to describe a storage organ of a plant, typically a swollen underground structure that stores carbohydrates and other nutrients. Gumók enable plants to survive unfavorable conditions and to propagate vegetatively.

Most gumók are tubers formed from thickened stems or roots; some refer to bulbs formed from leaf bases and basal structures. They often contain multiple buds, or eyes, from which new shoots emerge when conditions improve.

Potato tubers are the most common edible gumók, but many ornamental and crop plants such as dahlias and taro form gumók as well. Gumók are used in asexual propagation: planting a whole tuber or a section with buds can produce a new plant.

From a horticultural perspective, gumó management involves controlling moisture, temperature, and light to influence sprouting and storage life. In botanical texts, gumó is discussed alongside related storage organs such as rhizomes, bulbs, and tubers.

See also: tuber, bulb, corm, rhizome.