stolon

right |thumb |Ficinia spiralis (pīngao) spreads by forming stolons in the sand. right |thumb |Argentina anserina (common silverweed) showing red stolons In biology, a stolon ( from Latin stolō, genitive – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal stolons are exoskeletons (external skeletons).

==In botany== In botany, stolons are plant stems which grow at the soil surface or just below ground that form adventitious roots at the nodes, and new plants from the buds. Stolons are often called runners. Rhizomes, in contrast, are root-like stems that may either grow horizontally at the soil surface or in other orientations underground. Thus, not all horizontal stems are called stolons. Plants with stolons are called stoloniferous.