rhizome

After a lengthy preamble, in which Penelope talked about fronds, spores, roots, rhizomes, and the impressive knack ferns have for growing in the shade, she began to catalog the varieties.

In fall, she cuts the leaves down to about 6 inches above the rhizome.

Fireweed, a common native perennial with roots and rhizomes that go both deep and wide, has the capacity to produce up to 80,000 seeds in a season.

“My dream as a teacher,” Haas said, “is when something keeps growing underground, like a rhizome, and then at a different place grows into a different plant.”

That timing is important because harvesting ginger means uprooting the whole plant to get to the rhizomes growing underground.