caudex

A noun referring to the persistent, thickened stem of a herbaceous perennial plant, or the woody stem of palms and tree ferns.

• 🇫🇷Nom désignant la base persistante et épaissie d'une tige herbacée vivace, ou la tige ligneuse des palmiers et des fougères arborescentes.

1. Persistent thickened stem C2 formal scientific

   The thickened, often woody base of a herbaceous perennial plant that persists above ground and stores water or nutrients.

   • The caudex of the baobab tree can store thousands of liters of water.
   • Many succulent plants have a prominent caudex that helps them survive drought.
   • The gardener carefully transplanted the caudex to a larger pot.

   🇫🇷Caudex (base ligneuse persistante)

2. Woody stem of palms and tree ferns C2 formal scientific

   The main, woody stem or trunk of certain plants like palms and tree ferns, which is often unbranched and bears leaves at the top.

   • The caudex of the palm tree was covered in old leaf scars.
   • Tree ferns have a distinctive caudex that is often used in landscaping.
   • The botanist studied the growth rings of the caudex to determine the plant's age.

   🇫🇷tige ligneuse des palmiers et fougères arborescentes

   Synonymes: stipetrunk

• caudexes plural form
• caudices plural form
• caudexes' possessive plural form
• caudices' possessive plural form
• caudex's possessive singular form