cambium

American  

[kam-bee-uhm] / ˈkæm bi əm /

noun

Botany.

plural

cambiums, cambia

1. a layer of delicate meristematic tissue between the inner bark or phloem and the wood or xylem, which produces new phloem on the outside and new xylem on the inside in stems, roots, etc., originating all secondary growth in plants and forming the annual rings of wood.

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cambium British  

/ ˈkæmbɪəm /

noun

1. botany a meristem that increases the girth of stems and roots by producing additional xylem and phloem See also cork cambium

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cambium Scientific  

/ kăm′bē-əm /

plural

cambiums

1. A cylindrical layer of tissue in the stems and roots of many seed-bearing plants, consisting of cells that divide rapidly to form new layers of tissue. Cambium is a kind of meristem and is most active in woody plants, where it lies between the bark and wood of the stem. It is usually missing from monocotyledons, such as the grasses.

2. ◆ The vascular cambium forms tissues that carry water and nutrients throughout the plant. On its outer surface, the vascular cambium forms new layers of phloem, and on its inner surface, new layers of xylem. The growth of these new tissues causes the diameter of the stem to increase.

3. ◆ The cork cambium creates cells that eventually become bark on the outside and cells that add to the cortex on the inside. In woody plants, the cork cambium is part of the periderm.

4. See also secondary growth

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cambium Cultural  

1. The layer of a tree where growth occurs, just under the bark.

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Other Word Forms

• cambial adjective

Etymology

Origin of cambium

1665–75; < Late Latin: an exchange, barter; akin to Latin cambiāre to exchange

Example Sentences

The cambium is like a tree’s blood vessels, Durbin said, carrying water and nutrients up and down.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2024

Mycelial wedges squirmed into their tight layers of protective underbark and water-feeding cambium.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2023

Tree wounds that penetrate bark damage the cambium layer, vascular tissue that is vital to movement of water and nutrients in a tree.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 12, 2023

Cisar-Erlach also fries cambium, a thin tissue layer in trees, to create chips, and has baked bread with wood.

From Washington Post • Jan. 6, 2023

And lifting water is just one of the many jobs that the phloem, xylem, and cambium perform.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson