Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Caudex \Cau"dex\, n.; pl. L. {Caudices}, E. {Caudexes}. [L.]
   (Bot.)
   The stem of a tree., esp. a stem without a branch, as of a
   palm or a tree fern; also, the perennial rootstock of an
   herbaceous plant.