The term meristem was . coined by C. Nageli (1858) .. It is derived from Greek word meristos which means divisible. ? The meristem cells are immature and undifferentiated cells which remain embryonic in character, i.e., retain the ability to divide.
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Ans: Meristem cells are the ones that are yet not committed to become specific cell types. They are mainly responsible for the growth and regeneration in plants.
As they are not the committed cells, they are actively dividing and give rise to new cells that will differentiate into various types of plant tissues.
These meristems can be apical meristem and lateral meristem.
The ones that are located at the tip of the stems or roots are called apical meristem. They help in the upward and downward growth of the plants.
The lateral meristem helps in the secondary growth of the plants. They will increase the girth and thickness of the plants.
Anatomy of Dicotyledonous and Monocotyledonous Plants
Dicot Root:
Dicot plants have the taproot system.
The outermost layer is called the epidermis. The epidermal cells sometimes project out which appear as the root hairs.
The epidermis is followed by the multi-layered cortex, loosely made of the parenchyma cells with intercellular spaces.
The inner layer of the cortex is called endodermis, which is tightly packed by the barrel shaped-cells.
Endodermis is followed by pericycle, which are a few layers of thick-walled parenchyma cells.
In dicots, the central pith is not distinct.
There are two to four xylem and phloem.
The xylem and phloem are remarked by a layer of parenchymatous cells known as conjunctive tissue.
Monocot Root:
Monocot roots do not show much difference in the anatomy from that of the dicot roots.
Monocot plants possess an adventitious root system.
As in the dicots, the epidermis forms the outermost layer, followed by cortex, pericycle, endodermis, vascular bundles (xylem and phloem) and pith (random order).
Pith is conspicuous and large.
The number of xylem in a monocot is six or more.
Secondary growth is not seen in the monocot plants.