Roots
The root is that portion of the plant which grows downward, fixing it to the soil, and absorbing nourishment from the latter. True roots produce nothing but root-branches or rootlets.
Simple or unbranched roots are named according to their shapes—
conical, when like the carrot;
napiform, when like the turnip;
fusiform, when like the long radish.
Multiple, or branched, roots may be—
fascicled, or bunched, as in the dahlia;
tubercular, when furnished with small tubers;
fibrous, when threadlike.