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Caudex
Biological structure in a plant stem / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A caudex (pl.: caudices) of a plant is a stem,[1] but the term is also used to mean a rootstock[2] and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.[3]
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Dicksonia_antarctica_%28Tasmanian_Fern_Tree%29.jpg/320px-Dicksonia_antarctica_%28Tasmanian_Fern_Tree%29.jpg)
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In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is most often used with plants that have a different stem morphology from the typical angiosperm dicotyledon stem:[1] examples of this include palms, ferns, and cycads.
The related term caudiciform, literally meaning stem-like, is sometimes used to mean pachycaul, thick-stemmed.[3]