Cork Cambium is a plant tissue that is part of a plant’s outer covering, or periderm. The cork cambium definition states that it is the single-cell layer of cells that produces cork and phelloderm cells. It is found in the stems and trunks of woody plants such as angiosperms and gymnosperms. The periderm consists of three concentric cellular layers. From the outside in, these layers are:

• Cork is also known as phellem, are the air-filled spongy cells that appear as exterior bark. Cork cells are dead when fully mature.
• It is also known as bark cambium or phellogen.
• Phelloderm is the cells derived from the interior surface of the cork cambium cell layer.

The periderm, together with the layer of cells beneath it called secondary phloem, is commonly referred to as the bark of a tree or plant. These layers form a continuous ring of plant tissues from the base of the stem or branch toward the tip.

Functions of Cork Cambium

• The cork, a robust protective substance, and secondary cortex are produced by it.
• In roots and stems, it is in charge of secondary growth that takes the place of the epidermis.
• One of the plant’s meristems, a group of tissues made up of embryonic cells from which the plant develops, is the cork cambium.
  It guards the tree against fungal or bacterial illness.
• It stops water from escaping through the bark.
• Phellogen (cork cambium) is a meristem that produces periderm tissue. 

Cork Cambium Structure

It consists of a single layer of relatively undifferentiated cells within the periderm. Cambium tissue is found on the outside of the woody tissue of the plant and forms a ring of cells that continues along the length of the mature stem or branch. These undifferentiated cells divide to give rise to the developing cells of the periderm, notably the cork cells that form the outermost surface of the trunk or branch.

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By Team Learning Mantras