Bulb

a short and stout underground leafy stem, formed by several plant families, especially the lily family. It consists primarily of a solid, flat, horizontal portion. The under side of this plate produces roots; the upper side is covered with thick, fleshy leaf bases in the center of which may be found a bud from which a new plant is developed. The outermost scales are usually thin and dry, a single scale surrounding the entire bulb; and some times the outer scales are fleshy and narrow. The onion is an excellent example of the first,-the coated or tunicated bulb. The bulb of the wood-sorrel is of the other sort. See Lily; Netherlands