Category: 1. Meristematic Tissues

Intercalary meristems are found in grasses and related plants that do not have a vascular cambium or a cork cambium, as they do not increase in girth. These plants do have apical meristems and in areas of leaf attachment, called nodes, they have the third type of meristematic tissue. This meristem will also actively produce new cells and is responsible for increases in length. The intercalary meristem is responsible for the regrowth of cut grass.

There are other tissues in plants that do not actively produce new cells. These tissues are called nonmeristematic tissues. Nonmeristematic tissues are made of cells that are produced by the meristems and are formed to various shapes and sizes depending on their intended function in the plant. Sometimes the tissues are composed of the same type of cells throughout, or sometimes they are mixed. There are simple tissues and complex tissues to consider but we will start with the simple tissues for the sake of discussion.

Lateral meristems account for secondary growth in plants. Secondary growth is generally horizontal growth. A good example would be the growth of a tree trunk in girth. There are two types of lateral meristems to be aware of in the study of plants.

The vascular cambium, the first type of lateral meristem, is sometimes just called the cambium. The cambium is a thin, branching cylinder that, except for the tips where the apical meristems are located, runs the length of the roots and stems of most perennial plants and many herbaceous annuals. The cambium is responsible for the production of cells and tissues that increase the thickness, or girth, of the plant.

The cork cambium, the second type of lateral meristem, is much like the vascular cambium in that it is also a thin cylinder that runs the length of roots and stems. The difference is that it is only found in woody plants, as it will produce the outer bark.

Both the vascular cambium and the cork cambium, if present, will begin to produce cells and tissues only after the primary tissues produced by the apical meristems have begun to mature.

Apical meristems are located at or near the tips of roots and shoots. As new cells form in the meristems, the roots and shoots will increase in length. This vertical growth is also known as primary growth. A good example would be the growth of a tree in height. Each apical meristem will produce embryo leaves and buds as well as three types of primary meristems: protoderm, ground meristems, and procambium. These primary meristems will produce the cells that will form the primary tissues.

Tissues where cells are constantly dividing are called meristems or meristematic tissues. These regions produce new cells. These new cells are generally small, six-sided boxlike structures with a number of tiny vacuoles and a large nucleus, by comparison. Sometimes there are no vacuoles at all. As the cells mature the vacuoles will grow to many different shapes and sizes, depending on the needs of the cell. It is possible that the vacuole may fill 95% or more of the cell’s total volume. There are three types of meristems: (1) apical meristems, (2) lateral meristems, and (3) intercalary meristems.

Plants are composed of three major organ groups: roots, stems, and leaves. As we know from other areas of biology, these organs are comprised of tissues working together for a common goal (function). In turn, tissues are made of a number of cells which are made of elements and atoms on the most fundamental level. In this section, we will look at the various types of plant tissue and their place and purpose within a plant. It is important to realize that there may be slight variations and modifications to the basic tissue types in special plants.

Plant tissues are characterized and classified according to their structure and function. The organs that they form will be organized into patterns within a plant which will aid in further classifying the plant. A good example of this is the three basic tissue patterns found in roots and stems which serve to delineate between woody dicot, herbaceous dicot and monocot plants.

Different plant tissues: (1) pith, (2) protoxylem, (3) xylem, (4) phloem, (5) sclerenchyma, (6) cortex, and (7) epidermis.