Anatomy Of Flowering Plants - Meristematic Tissue

Plant growth depends on meristems, regions of actively dividing cells classified by NCERT according to their position and function. Lateral meristems, comprising the vascular cambium and cork cambium, lie along the sides of the axis and add cells in a radial direction, thereby increasing the girth or thickness of woody dicot stems and roots during secondary growth. The apical meristem is located at the tips of roots and shoots and is responsible for primary growth that increases length, not girth. The intercalary meristem occurs at the bases of internodes or leaves, especially in grasses, and contributes to elongation rather than thickening. Ground meristem is a primary meristematic tissue that differentiates into the cortex and pith but does not by itself drive yearly increases in girth. As stated in NCERT Class 11, Chapter 6 (Anatomy of Flowering Plants), lateral meristems are responsible for secondary growth. A developmental check confirms that radial addition of tissue producing wood and bark corresponds only to the lateral meristem.