meristem

American  

[mer-uh-stem] / ˈmɛr əˌstɛm /

noun

Botany.

1. embryonic tissue in plants; undifferentiated, growing, actively dividing cells.

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meristem British  

/ ˌmɛrɪstɪˈmætɪk, ˈmɛrɪˌstɛm /

noun

1. a plant tissue responsible for growth, whose cells divide and differentiate to form the tissues and organs of the plant. Meristems occur within the stem (see cambium ) and leaves and at the tips of stems and roots

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meristem Scientific  

/ mĕr′ĭ-stĕm′ /

1. Plant tissue whose cells actively divide to form new tissues that cause the plant to grow. The originally undifferentiated cells of the meristem can produce specialized cells to form the tissues of roots, leaves, and other plant parts. The meristem includes the growing tips of roots and stems (the apical meristems) and the tissue layer known as cambium.

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meristem Cultural  

1. The region on a plant where division of cells (and hence growth) occurs. Usually, meristems are found in the shoots and root tips, and places where branches meet the stem. In trees, growth occurs in the cambium — the layer just beneath the bark.

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Other Word Forms

• meristematic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of meristem

1870–75; < Greek merist ( ós ) divided, distributed (equivalent to *merid-, stem of merízein to divide into parts (derivative of méris part, share) + -tos verbal adjective suffix) + -em < Greek -ēma termination of nouns denoting result of action; cf. -eme

Example Sentences

BBM encodes a transcription factor that regulates embryonic development, while WUS encodes a transcription factor that maintains stem cell identity in the shoot apical meristem region.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2024

The increase in length of the shoot and the root is referred to as primary growth, and is the result of cell division in the shoot apical meristem.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Often, the apical meristem of a single branch will become dominant, suppressing the growth of meristems on other branches and leading to the development of a single trunk.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The apical meristem is made of undifferentiated cells that continue to proliferate throughout the life of the plant.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

It appears at first as a simple cellular papilla of meristem, upon which an indication of two lobes soon appears.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5 "Fleury, Claude" to "Foraker" by Various