caudex

[kaw-deks]

noun

Botany.

plural

caudices, caudexes 

1. the main stem of a tree, especially a palm or tree fern.

2. the woody or thickened persistent base of an herbaceous perennial.

caudex

/ ˈkɔːdɛks /

noun

1. the thickened persistent stem base of some herbaceous perennial plants

2. the woody stem of palms and tree ferns

caudex

1. The thickened, usually underground base of the stem of many perennial herbaceous plants, from which new leaves and flowering stems arise.

2. The trunk of a palm or tree fern.

Word History and Origins

Origin of caudex¹

1820–30; < Latin: tree trunk; codex

Word History and Origins

Origin of caudex¹

C19: from Latin

Example Sentences

She loves caudiciform succulents — plants that have an above-soil round caudex — and designs squat planters that highlight the plant’s swollen stem.

From Los Angeles Times

The word code comes from the Latin caudex, the wooden pith of a tree on which scribes carved their writing.

From Literature

June–Aug.—Plant raised on its prolonged caudex when growing in water.

From Project Gutenberg

The stem is short or entirely wanting, arising from a long and thick caudex.

From Project Gutenberg

Some sorts, the present one included, are not very readily propagated, as the crowns are not on separate pieces of root, but often crowded on a woody caudex.

From Project Gutenberg