Where a plant grows — and why it can't run away
A plant is rooted in place. It can't walk to better soil or move toward sunlight. Instead, it grows toward what it needs. That growth happens only in specific regions called meristems — zones of actively dividing cells. Think of them as the plant's permanent construction sites.
Unlike animals, where most cell division stops after development, plants keep dividing throughout their life. The cells that do this dividing are meristematic cells: small, thin-walled, densely packed, with large nuclei and no vacuoles. They are undifferentiated — they haven't yet decided what to become.
The three meristems by position
Meristems are classified by where they are found and what they do. There are three types.
1. Apical meristems — the tips
Found at the tips of roots and shoots. These are responsible for primary growth — increase in length. A root tip pushes deeper into the soil; a shoot tip pushes upward toward light. Both have an apical meristem at the very end, protected by a root cap (in roots) or leaf primordia (in shoots).
Apical meristems produce primary tissues (epidermis, ground tissue, vascular tissue) and are responsible for primary growth — elongation of the plant body.
2. Intercalary meristems — the gaps
Found at the bases of leaves or internodes in some plants (grasses, bamboo, mint). These are actually apical meristems that got left behind as the stem elongated. They allow rapid regrowth — which is why grass grows back after you cut it. The cut removes the shoot tip, but the intercalary meristem at the leaf base keeps producing new cells.
| Meristem | Position | Function | Example |
|----------|----------|----------|---------|
| Apical | Root and shoot tips | Length increase | All young plants |
| Intercalary | Base of leaves/internodes | Regrowth after cutting | Grasses, bamboo |
| Lateral | Cylindrical, along stems/roots | Thickness increase | Trees, shrubs |
3. Lateral meristems — the sides
Found as cylinders along the length of stems and roots. These are responsible for secondary growth — increase in girth. Two main types:
- Vascular cambium — produces secondary xylem (wood) inward and secondary phloem outward.
- Cork cambium — produces cork (bark) outward.
Lateral meristems are absent in most monocots (like grasses) and present in dicots and gymnosperms (like trees).
| A common mistake: thinking all meristems are at the tips. Lateral meristems run the entire length of the stem or root — they are not point-like but cylindrical. They make a tree trunk thicker year after year.
The precise statement
Meristematic tissues are groups of undifferentiated cells capable of continuous division. Based on position, they are classified as: …