Caudex is formed by caudiciform plants, these plants have swollen stems, trunks, and above the ground roots. Plants with caudex are very rare but not extinct.
Caudex helps in the storage of excess water use over a long dry season, in other words, they are succulent plants. Because of this feature, you don’t need to water these plants regularly.
Are you curious about knowing some plants with caudex? This article lists 10 plants with caudex, keep reading to find out!
10 Plants With Caudex
1. Maiden’s Quiver Tree
The quiver tree is a very large aloe species or type. Quiver trees are distinguished by their smooth bark, gray-green leaves, and yellow flowers.
Its flowers are produced during the winter months of June and July. It grows only in southern Africa and has a leathery caudex that gives it an ancient appearance.
The quiver tree thrives in dry environments and grows in rocky, mountainous areas or on sandy plains. Quiver trees, like all aloes, are succulents. Water is stored in their stems and leaves.
Quiver trees do not grow quickly; rather, they grow slowly. Their root can be 10 to 25 feet above the ground.
Also, their trunk is thickest at the base and can be as wide as 3 feet.
2. Ponytail Palm
This plant, also known as elephant’s foot, is native to eastern Mexico.
The Ponytail Palm grows to be about 15 feet tall and 6 inches wide, with a noticeable expanded caudex for storing water.
This succulent plant gets its name from the hair-like leaves that grow from the top of the trunk like a ponytail.
This plant has feathery, slender, and long leaves. Its leaves are green, with creamy white flowers.
This plant also grows well in dry, sandy soils. Just like the Quiver tree, this plant also grows slowly.
3. Tree Grape
Tree Grape is quite a unique tree that has caudex. It has a white trunk which is a rare sight. It also has very large caudiciform relative to its overall size.
This plant is succulent and the leaves have margins that are alternate, palmately lobed, and toothed.
The leaves are green and it has tiny clustered greenish flowers. It also has an amazing fruit. The fruit of this tree is a berry, which can be black, green, red, or amber.
Tree Grape plants are slow-growing plants, in addition, they can be adapted to a wide range of soils, ranging from;
- Blow sands to clay loams from shallow to very deep soils.
- From highly calcareous to non-calcareous soils.
- From very low to high fertility.
4. Desert Rose
Desert rose is also known as Sabi star, kudu, mock azalea, and impala lily.
This is a succulent plant native to desert regions of Africa, Asia, and Tanzania.
It is often used as a houseplant because of its beautiful flowers and charming, tree-like shape.
Desert rose has modified fat stems that are low; this makes up its caudex. The desert rose grows to a height of 3 to 9 feet long and 3 to 5 feet wide.
It is a thick-stemmed succulent plant with few leaves.
The desert rose belongs to the Apocynaceae family. It is an evergreen or a drought-deciduous shrub. It is a slow-growing plant, gaining less than twelve inches per year.
Here is an article I wrote about plants with cool leaves
5. Baseball Plant
The baseball plant is a subtropical succulent plant that originates from South Africa.
Besides their common name, these plants are also known as Baseball Cactus, Golf Ball, Sea Urchin, Gingham, and Living Baseball.
However, it is commonly known as ‘baseball plant’ due to its shape.
This plant is a segmented, spherical plant with a rather bloated body (caudex) that stores water.
The entire spherical plant is the caudex. Its diameter is between 6 cm and 15 cm depending on its age.
This plant is known for its slow-growing behavior and high lifespan. The plant is dioecious, which means it has either a male or female flower.
Baseball plants are very dependent on light.
They prefer warm conditions similar to those in their natural habitat, but they can also withstand cooler temperatures.
6. Red Paper-drops
This plant is a shrub with arching stems that are bejeweled with beautiful, bell-shaped, scarlet flowers.
The red paper drop comes from the cool foothills of the Himalayas. Interestingly, this plant grows well indoors in a pot or hanging planter.
This plant has fascinating patterns and large caudex, making it a highly attractive show plant.
Red paper drops thrive in areas where the temperature ranges from about 32 to 80 °F.
This plant can also survive several degrees of frost, but they prefer temperatures above freezing.
They also thrive in hot weather to an extent; however, it is advised that a shade be provided to protect them from the harsh sun if they are indoor plants.
7. Queensland Bottle Tree
This plant is also known as the narrow-leaved bottle tree, this plant is an origin of Queensland, Australia.
This plant gains its name because of the shape of its tree, which is shaped in a bottle form. The tree can reach 40 feet with a trunk diameter of 6 feet.
This plant is succulent and it has dark grey bark. This plant is marked by shallow tessellation and deeper fissures.
Smaller branches are light green or grey and the leaves are alternately arranged along the stems.
8. Rock Cabbage Tree
This plant is widely distributed in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The rock cabbage tree grows naturally on;
- Rocky Outcrops
- Wooded Grassland
- Mountainsides
- Montane Forests
The rock cabbage tree is a deciduous plant that grows in hot dry areas. This plant has a caudiform that is hick and corky.
This succulent plant has a lot of similarities with maple leaves which turn yellow in autumn. It is also a good choice for indoor plant decoration.
9. Pregnant Onions
This plant is also known as false onions or sea onions.
This unique plant is a native of South Africa. Its leaves are bright green and they have an elongated shape, just like a ribbon.
The leaves are about 8 inches long; they thrive in temperatures of about 59 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pregnant onions are succulent plants that only tolerate minimal exposure to sunlight; it is advised to put them in a shade if they are being used as indoor plants.
When planting pregnant onions, the soil should be chosen based on moisture content.
The drier the soil, the better it is for the plant. Pregnant onion plants usually cannot survive in marshy, wet soil.
Flowering usually occurs from spring through to early winter which is usually between May to August.
10. Shaving Brush Tree
This is a small to medium-sized, deciduous flowering tree with succulent stems. It is a native of Central America.
The tree of this plant can get up to 30 feet or more with a trunk diameter of over 4 feet. It has a swollen smooth green trunk, which looks like a tortoiseshell pattern.
It is fissured with gray bark and large palmately compound leaves.
Each steam is made up of five elliptical rounded dark-green leaflets that are about 1 foot long and 7 inches wide.
It tolerates high temperatures of about 20 degrees Celsius, and it doesn’t do well in cold weather.
Conclusion
Caudex is a product of caudiciform plants, these plants can store water to prepare for dry seasons.
10 plants with caudex have been discussed, and a common feature among these unique plants is the fact that they are all succulent plants.
Another striking feature of these plants is their unique shapes.
Each of these plants has shapes that distinguish one from the other.
The baseball plant and the Queensland bottle tree got their names as a result of their shapes.
