Cork cambium

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Cork cambium of woody stem (Tilia). It is different from the main vascular cambium, which is the ring between the wood (xylem) on the inside (top) and the red bast (phloem) outside it.

Cork cambium (pl.: cambia or cambiums) is a

monocots (monocots usually lack secondary growth). It is one of the plant's meristems – the series of tissues consisting of embryonic disk (incompletely differentiated) cells from which the plant grows. The function of cork cambium is to produce the cork, a tough protective material.[1][2]

Synonyms for cork cambium are bark cambium, pericambium and phellogen. Phellogen is defined as the meristematic cell layer responsible for the development of the periderm. Cells that grow inwards from there are termed phelloderm, and cells that develop outwards are termed phellem or cork (note similarity with

periderm thus consists of three different layers:[1][2]

  • phelloderm – inside of cork cambium; composed of living parenchyma cells
  • phellogen (cork cambium) – meristem that gives rise to periderm
  • phellem (cork) – dead at maturity; air-filled, quite variable between different species, and is also highly dependent on age and growth conditions as can be observed from the different surfaces of bark, which may be smooth, fissured, tesselated, scaly, or flaking off.

Economic importance

Quercus suber (cork oak) bark, Portugal

Commercial

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.[citation needed
]

Many types of bark are used as mulch.

See also

References

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