caudex

[ kaw-deks ]

/ ˈkɔ dɛks /

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

the woody or thickened persistent base of an herbaceous perennial.

Origin of caudex

1820–30; < Latin: tree trunk; cf. codex

Where the stem of the Fern is upright it is properly termed a caudex, whilst in its horizontal form it is spoken of as a rhizome.

How to Know the Ferns |S. Leonard Bastin
The name of a book, caudex, codex, was first given to these tabellae when they were strung together to form a square book.

Old English Libraries |Ernest Savage
A very characteristic feature of the Male Fern is its stout and sometimes very upright stem or caudex.

How to Know the Ferns |S. Leonard Bastin
Kydia continues; a fine Palm, caudex 8-10-pedali; it probably belongs to the genus Wallichia?

Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and The |William Griffith

The striking resemblance of Kingia, in caudex and leaves, to Xanthorrhoea, cannot fail to suggest its affinity to that genus also.

Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2] |Phillip Parker King

caudex

/ (ˈkɔːdɛks) /

the thickened persistent stem base of some herbaceous perennial plants

the woody stem of palms and tree ferns

C19: from Latin

caudex

[ kô′dĕks′ ]

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

The trunk of a palm or tree fern.