The creeping underground stem of plants such as iris, calamus, and sanguinaria. [G. rhizoma, mass of roots, fr. rhiza, root, + -oma, mass]
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rhi·zome 'rī-.zōm n a usu. horizontal subterranean plant stem that is distinguished from a true root in possessing buds, nodes, and usu. scalelike leaves
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rhi·zome (riґzōm) [Gr. rhizōma root stem] the subterraneous root stock of a plant.Medical dictionary. 2011.