Cambium tissue in stems promotes secondary growth. What kind of growth does the cambium enable?

Cambium tissue in stems promotes secondary growth. What kind of growth does the cambium enable?

• A. Primary growth
• B. Secondary growth
• C. Tertiary growth
• D. No growth

Answer: (B)

Growth in stems occurs in two main ways: primary growth from apical meristems lengthens the plant, while secondary growth from lateral meristems thickens it. The cambium is a vascular cambium, a lateral meristem located between the xylem and phloem. It produces secondary xylem toward the inside and secondary phloem toward the outside, adding new cell layers each growing season. That activity increases the stem’s diameter, which is exactly what secondary growth means. Primary growth would lengthen the stem, not widen it; the term for growth that cambium enables is secondary growth.

Growth in stems occurs in two main ways: primary growth from apical meristems lengthens the plant, while secondary growth from lateral meristems thickens it. The cambium is a vascular cambium, a lateral meristem located between the xylem and phloem. It produces secondary xylem toward the inside and secondary phloem toward the outside, adding new cell layers each growing season. That activity increases the stem’s diameter, which is exactly what secondary growth means. Primary growth would lengthen the stem, not widen it; the term for growth that cambium enables is secondary growth.