Caudiciforms
and other “Fat Plants”
Lovers of cacti and succulent plants will often become fans of the fat plants—the caudiciforms. A fat, short, swollen stem is referred to by botanists as a caudex, while plants that display this kind of growth habit are called caudiciform plants. Caudiciform plants are almost exclusively desert dwellers that use their swollen stems for water storage between periods of drought.
Many caudiciforms have peeling bark, and/or a shiny, almost iridescent trunk. This growth pattern shows up in a large array of genera and families. There are some other types of caudiciform-like plants that are generally grouped
Photo of the Baja Elephant Tree (Pachychormis discolor) by Arturo Ruiz Villanueva
While most of the categories on this website are taxonomic, this group of plants do not share a genetic lineage, but have developed traits that are fascinating to us plant people independently, all over the world. We call this “convergent evolution”—when organisms that are not closely related evolve similar features or behaviors as a way to adapt to similar environments. It is the similarity in ENVIRONMENT that creates similarities rather than genetics.
