-Kumudinee, Subject Matter Expert at Edumarz
Solution: Meristems are specialised tissue regions of plant growth.
The meristematic regions where active and rapid division of cells take place. Meristems can be classified into three types on the basis of their location as apical meristem, intercalary meristem and lateral meristem.
It is located at the apex of both root and the shoot.
The shoot apical meristem is present at the tips of the shoots and its active division and is involved in the elongation of the stem as well as formation of new leaves.
The root apical meristem divides and results in root elongation.
It is located between the masses of mature tissues present at the bases of the leaves of grasses.
It is mainly involved in the regeneration of grasses after they have been grazed by herbivores.
The intercalary meristem and the apical meristem appear early in a plant’s life, hence they constitute the primary meristem.
It is found in the mature tissues of roots and shoots.
It is known as the secondary meristem as it appears later in a plant’s life.
It helps in adding secondary tissues to the plant body and hence increasing the girth of plants. Examples include fascicular cambium, interfascicular cambium, and cork cambium.