short, thickened, mostly underground stem that constitutes the resting stage of certain seed plants. It bears minute scale leaves, each with a bud that has the potential for developing into a new plant. The potato is a typical tuber, as is the Jerusalem artichoke. The term is also used imprecisely but widely for fleshy roots or rhizomes of other plants that resemble tubers—e.g., the “tuber” (actually a tuberous root) of a dahlia.