(botany) The stalk of a plant, especially a herbaceous stem in its natural state.
Examples
The word cawl in Welsh is first recorded in the 14th century, and is thought to come from the Latin caulis, meaning the stalk of a plant, a cabbage stalk or a cabbage.
Liming the soil helps but you'll probably find you have to grow your cabbages, caulis and sprouts in another area.
In the middle ages the general literary term throughout Europe was coles from caulis, a stalk, and virga, a rod.