by Malpighi and other botanists, is used to signify the stem or trunk of a tree; by Linnaeus, the stock or body of the root, part of which ascends, part descends. The ascending part raises itself gradually above ground, serving frequently for a trunk, and corresponds in some measure to the caudex of former writers; the descending part strikes gradually downward into the ground, and puts forth radicles or small fibres, which are the principal and essential part of every root. The descending caudex