Alberto wrote: " Interestingly in many areas of South America that are dryish and hot very many plants look "bulbous" but they aren't. It is an adaptation to periodical fires and most (if not all) are woody and carrot like. In other words, a tree or shrub of small size completely buried in the ground and from which only the soft green parts emerge. This organs are xylopodiums but not bulbs, corms and tubers. More like caudiciforms." Excellent! And I really like that word xylopodium - sounds like a euphemism for the prosthetic devices used for amputees after the American Civil War (xylopodium literally says "wooden foot"). But I would say that although these plants are not bulbs, they are geophytes. And while we are at it, would someone like to stick their neck out and categorize the structure from which Achimenes grow? Be forewarned: no matter how you answer, I'll probably have something to say about it! And no cheating by making up some concoction such as "strobiliform rhizomes". Jim McKenney