Secondary Growth

Secondary Growth takes place by the following steps:

1. Formation of cambial ring
2. Activity of cambium ring
3. Secondary vascular tissue
4. Formation of Periderm
Formation of cambial ring:
• The cambium present in the primary vascular bundles is
known as fascicular cambium it is also known as vascular
cambium . it is primary in origin it is present in between
xylem and phloem.
• Before secondary growth starts the parenchymatous cells of
the medullary rays which are in line with the fascicular
cambium become meristematic and form inter fascicular
cambium.
• The inter fascicular cambium extend laterally and join with
the fascicular cambium forms a continuous cambial ring.
• The cambial cells are of two kinds namely the Fusiform
initials and Ray initials. The Fusiform initials produce
secondary tissues and ray initials gives rise to ray cells of
xylem and phloem.
Activity of cambium ring
• The cambial ring cuts of vascular tissues on either side. The
cells that are produced outwards become differentiated into
secondary phloem and the cells that are formed inwards
become differentiated into secondary xylem.
• Due to the formation of secondary xylem, the primary
xylem masses are push towards the centre.
• Due to the formation of secondary phloem the primary
phloem masses are push outwards. The primary phloem
gets crushed and the primary xylem remains intact at the
centre.
• The ray initials of the cambial ring cuts of narrow
secondary medullary rays which extend both into the
secondary xylem as well as secondary phloem.
Secondary vascular tissue:
 Secondary vascular tissues are the secondary xylem and secondary
phloem they are formed by the fusiform initials of the vascular
cambium.
 The secondary xylem is also known as wood.
 The cambium ring cuts off new cells on its inner side are gradually
modified into xylary elements, called the secondary xylem.
 This tissue serves many important functions, such as conduction of
water and nutrients, mechanical support, etc
 The cambial cells divide tangentially and produce secondary phloem
elements towards outside of it.
 Secondary phloem is also known as bast and consist of sieve tube,
campanion cells, phloem fibre or bast fibre and phloem parenchyma.
 Normally, the amount of secondary phloem is lesser than the amount of
secondary xylem. Usually the primary phloem becomes crushed and
functionless and the secondary phloem performs all physiological
activities for sufficiently a long period of time.
Introduction to Secondary Growth:
 The growth in length of the axis is called the primary growth and
produces primary tissues. The primary body of the plant is
developed from the apical meristem. Increases in girth or
thickness of the axis is called secondary growth. The tissues,
formed during secondary growth are called secondary tissues.
Sometimes as in monocotyledons and pteridophytes, does not
grow in thickness by cambial activity Secondary Growth is
absent.
 Secondary tissues may be two types—the vascular tissues that
are developed by the true cambium, and cork and phelloderm,
which are formed by phellogen or cork-cambium. In a typical
dicotyledonous stem, the secondary growth starts in the intra-
and extrastelar regions.
Secondary Growth in Dicot Stem
Secondary growth in plants is driven by two types of lateral
meristems: the vascular cambium and the cork cambium (or
phellogen). Here’s how each contributes to the plant’s
development:
• Vascular Cambium:
– Function: It produces secondary vascular tissues.
– Formation: During the growing season, the vascular cambium forms by
the joining of fascicular (within vascular bundles) and interfascicular
cambium (between vascular bundles).
– Cell Types:
• Fusiform Initials: Elongated, spindle-shaped cells that divide
periclinally (parallel to the surface) to form secondary xylem (wood) on
the inner side and secondary phloem (inner bark) on the outer side.
• Ray Initials: Shorter, isodiametric cells that produce ray cells, which
contribute to the radial transport of nutrients and support.
– Divisions:
• Periclinal Divisions: Increase the girth of the plant by forming
secondary xylem and phloem.
• Anticlinal Divisions: Cause the cambium ring to expand.
• Cork Cambium (Phellogen):
– Function: It forms the periderm, which includes cork cells (phellem),
phelloderm, and the cork cambium itself.
– Formation: Phellogen produces cork cells outwardly and phelloderm
inwardly.
– Cork Cells: These are dead, suberized cells that form the outer
protective layer of the plant.

Overall Role of Secondary Growth:

• Increased Girth: Secondary growth contributes to the increase in the
plant’s girth, allowing it to support more weight and withstand
environmental stresses.
• Protection: It forms a corky bark that protects the plant’s interior from
abrasion, temperature extremes, and infections.
• Support and Transport: New conducting tissues are formed to replace
old, non-functioning ones and meet the increased demand for transporting
sap and nutrients over longer distances.
Secondary Growth in Dicot Root
In herbaceous dicotyledons, gymnosperms, and woody
dicotyledons, secondary growth in roots leads to an
increase in thickness. Although the tissues of secondary
origin in roots are fundamentally similar to those in
stems, their formation process differs due to the unique
structure of roots.
• Formation of Secondary Tissues in Dicot Roots
• Vascular Bundle Arrangement:
– Roots typically have a limited number of radially arranged
vascular bundles with exarch xylem (xylem that matures from
the outside in).
• Cambium Formation:
– Initial Cambium Formation: A group of parenchyma cells
located beneath each phloem patch becomes meristematic and
forms strips of cambium.
– Development of Continuous Cambium: The cambium
develops by dividing and producing secondary xylem
inwardly and secondary phloem outwardly. The uniseriate
pericycle (layer of cells outside the protoxylem) also starts
dividing. The cambium from each phloem patch extends and
eventually joins to form a continuous wavy ring.
• Cambial Activity:
• Secondary Xylem vs. Secondary Phloem: Cambial cells
produce secondary xylem at a higher rate compared to
secondary phloem, causing the wavy cambium ring to
become more circular over time.
• Position of Primary Tissues: Due to secondary growth,
primary xylem is pushed towards the center, while primary
phloem is pushed towards the periphery. This results in a
star-like appearance of the primary xylem in transverse
sections.
• Vascular Rays:
• Ray Initials: Cambial cells originating from the pericycle
adjacent to the protoxylem groups function as ray initials.
They produce broad bands of vascular rays (medullary
rays) that run between xylem and phloem through the
cambium. These rays are characteristic of roots.
• Formation of Periderm:
– Phellogen Development: To cope with the pressure
from secondary growth, the phellogen (cork cambium)
forms outside the pericycle. It produces cork cells
(phellem) on the outer side and phelloderm on the
inner side.
– Sloughing-off: The pressure from secondary growth
eventually ruptures the endodermis and cortex, which
are then sloughed off. Lenticels, which are
transversely elongated rough areas, may form to
facilitate gas exchange.
• Through secondary growth, the root's girth increases,
supporting the plant's larger size and enhancing its ability
to transport nutrients and water.