Question

Cork cambium represents
a. Secondary meristem
b. Primary meristem
c. Intercalary meristem
d. Apical meristem

Answer 1

Hint: Cork cambium is the tissue of vascular plants, and it is a part of the epidermis, it is one of the many layers of the plant, and cork cambium is present between the cork and the primary phloem. Other names of cork cambium are bark cambium, pericambium, and phellogen.

Complete answer:
- Cork cambium is a lateral meristem, which is responsible for the secondary growth of plants, and it replaces the epidermis in roots and stems of plants.
- Cork cambium is mostly found in dicots such as woody and many herbaceous dicots, and it is also found in gymnosperms, and in some monocots because, in monocots, secondary growth is absent.
- Cork cambium is one of the plant meristem, which means that it is a series of tissue that consists of embryonic disk cells, from which the plant grows.
- The main functions of the cork cambium are to produce cork and a protective material called Phellogen.
- Phellogen is a meristematic cell, which produces periderm.
- Periderm produces the cells which grow inwards is called Phelloderm and it is present inside to periderm and made up of parenchyma cells.
- Periderm grows outwards and produces the cells called Phellum, it is the outer layer, which is dead and mature layers and its function is protection.
- Growth and development of the cork cambium are different in many species, while it mainly depends on age growth.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Note: The cork cambium which has commercial importance is derived from the cork oak, which is Quercus Suber, and it is used to make so many things such as wine bottle stoppers, bulletin boards, insulation, sealing for lids, and for flooring, etc.