a plant possessing a primary root system without adventitious roots and buds; senescing tap root of old plants decays from the root center, in some species causing plant fragmentation; an old individual genet disintegrates into ramets bearing parts of the main root and one or a few shoots; vegetative spreading is poor; the tap root serves as a storage organ and vascular link between shoots; the bud bank is situated on the perennial bases of shoots (caudex)
