Cork cambium

Multiple cross sections of a stem showing cork cambium (click image 3 times to see detail)^[1]

Cork cambium (pl. cambia or cambiums) is a tissue found in many vascular plants as part of the periderm. The cork cambium is a lateral meristem and is responsible for secondary growth that replaces the epidermis in roots and stems. It is found in woody and many herbaceous dicots, gymnosperms and some monocots, which usually lack secondary growth.

Cork cambium is one of the plant's meristems - the series of tissues consisting of embryonic (incompletely differentiated) cells from which the plant grows. It is one of the many layers of bark, between the cork and primary phloem. The function of cork cambium is to produce the cork, a tough protective material.

Synonyms for cork cambium are bark cambium, pericambium or phellogen. Phellogen is defined as the meristematic cell layer responsible for the development of the periderm. Cells that grow inwards from the phellogen are termed phelloderm, and cells that develops outwards are termed phellem or cork (note similarity with vascular cambium). The periderm thus consists of three different layers:

• phelloderm - inside of cork cambium, composed of living parenchyma cells
• phellogen (cork cambium) - meristem that gives rise to periderm
• phellem (cork) - at maturity, dead, air-filled protective tissue on the outside

Growth and development of cork cambium is very variable between different species, and also highly dependent on age, growth conditions etc. as can be observed from the different surfaces of bark; smooth, fissured, tesselated, scaly, flaking off, etc.

Economic importance

• Commercial cork is derived from the bark of the cork oak (Quercus suber). Cork has many uses including wine bottle stoppers, bulletin boards, coasters, hot pads to protect tables from hot pans, insulation, sealing for lids, flooring, gaskets for engines, fishing bobbers, handles for fishing rods and tennis rackets, etc. It is also a high strength-to-weight/cost ablative material for aerodynamic prototypes in wind tunnels, as well as satellite launch vehicle payload fairings, reentry surfaces, and compression joints in thrust-vectored solid rocket motor nozzles.
• Many types of bark are used as mulch.

See also

• Bark
• Meristem
• Cork (material)
• Vascular cambium
• Sun scald (flora)
• Frost crack

References

1. ^ Winterborne J, 2005. Hydroponics - Indoor Horticulture [1]

• Junikka, L. (1994) Macroscopic bark terminology. IAWA Journal 15(1): 3-45
• Trockenbrodt, M. (1990) Survey and discussion of the terminology used in bark anatomy. IAWA Bulletin, New Series 11: 141-166.

This botany article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Botany stubs Plant anatomy Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая? Vascular cambium Sanyō Shinkansen Look at other dictionaries: cork cambium — n. Bot. a layer of formative cells between the cork and the cortex, from which the cork is formed …   English World dictionary cork cambium — cork′ cam bium n. bot phellogen • Etymology: 1875–80 …   From formal English to slang cork cambium — noun Etymology: cork (I) : phellogen …   Useful english dictionary cork cambium — noun Date: 1878 phellogen …   New Collegiate Dictionary cork cambium — Bot. phellogen. [1875 80] * * * …   Universalium cork cambium — /kɔk ˈkæmbiəm/ (say kawk kambeeuhm) noun Botany → phellogen …   Cork — may refer to: Cork Oak, a deciduous tree Cork (material), used for bottle stoppers, insulation, floor and wall tiling, and noteboard, obtained from the Cork Oak Contents 1 Places 2 Parliamentary constituencies 3 Others …   Wikipedia cambium — Bot. Meristematic plant tissue, commonly present as a thin layer which forms new cells on both sides. Located either in vascular tissue (vascular cambium), forming xylem on one side and phloem on the other, or in cork (cork cambium or phellogen) …   Dictionary of molecular biology Cambium — In botany the cambium is a layer or layers of tissue, also known as lateral meristems, that are the source of cells for secondary growth. There are two types of cambium*Cork cambium *Vascular cambiumReferences*Taiz, L and Zeiger, E. 1998. Plant… …   Wikipedia cambium — pl cambia A one or two cells thick layer of plant meristematic tissue, between the xylem and phloem tissues, which gives rise to secondary tissues, thus resulting in an increase in the diameter of the stem or root. The two most important cambia… …   Glossary of Biotechnology 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”