Question

Which of the following meristems are lateral meristems?
A. Apical meristem,interfascicular cambium, cork cambium
B. Fascicular vascular cambium,interfascicular cambium and cork cambium
C. Apical meristem, intercalary meristem and cork cambium
D. Intercalary meristem,interfascicular cambium and cork cambium
E. Fascicular cambium, apical meristem and cork cambium

Answer 1

The specialized cells in the plant which are young and can divide or differentiate for the plant growth are called the meristematic tissue. Whereas the lateral meristem plays a major role in the lateral or the diameter growth of the plant tissues.
Lateral meristem is mostly observed surrounding the stem part of the plant and they also help in production of secondary tissues such as secondary xylem and secondary phloem.

Complete answer: The meristem tissues are of three types which can be seen at the different parts of the plant and exhibiting different activities for the plant growth
Apical meristem is meant for the apex growth of the plant tissues which includes root tips, new leaves.
Thus, Option A is not correct
Intercalary meristem is responsible for the middle part growth of the plant i.e. it is mostly responsible for the growth of the length of the plant.
Lateral meristem helps in the secondary growth of the plant tissues
The secondary growth is complemented by the thinking of the stem or roots in the woody plants
The lateral meristem consists of cambial cells such as vascular cambium and cork cambium for the ring formation; hence most of the cambium tissues come under lateral meristem.
So, Option c, option D, options E are not correct as they include meristematic tissue not lateral cambium cells.
So, the correct answer is “Option b”.

Note:
Lateral meristem undergoes continuous cell division mostly in the dicot woody plants called as secondary growth form rings in the core region of the plant and the number of rings in the plant helps in identifying the age of the plant. All the meristematic tissues have a similarity in dividing continuously and being responsible for the plant growth.