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Secondary growth
 
 
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In many vascular plants, secondary growth is the result of the activity of the vascular cambium
Vascular cambium

The vascular cambium is a lateral meristem in the vascular tissue of plants. The vascular cambium is the source of both the secondary xylem and the secondary phloem , and is located between these tissues in the stem and root....
. The latter is a meristem
Meristem

A meristem is the biological tissue in all plants consisting of undifferentiated cells and found in zones of the plant where growth can take place....
 that divides to produce secondary xylem cell
Plant cell

Plant cells are eukaryote cells that differ in several key respects from the cell of other eukaryote organisms. Their distinctive features include:...
s on the inside of the meristem (the adaxial side) and secondary phloem cells on the outside (the abaxial side). This growth increases the girth of the plant root
Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial root or aerating ....
 or stem
Plant stem

A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaf, inflorescence , conifer cones or other stems etc....
, rather than its length, hence the phrase "secondary thickening". As long as the vascular cambium continues to produce new cells, the stem or root will continue to grow in diameter.






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In many vascular plants, secondary growth is the result of the activity of the vascular cambium
Vascular cambium

The vascular cambium is a lateral meristem in the vascular tissue of plants. The vascular cambium is the source of both the secondary xylem and the secondary phloem , and is located between these tissues in the stem and root....
. The latter is a meristem
Meristem

A meristem is the biological tissue in all plants consisting of undifferentiated cells and found in zones of the plant where growth can take place....
 that divides to produce secondary xylem cell
Plant cell

Plant cells are eukaryote cells that differ in several key respects from the cell of other eukaryote organisms. Their distinctive features include:...
s on the inside of the meristem (the adaxial side) and secondary phloem cells on the outside (the abaxial side). This growth increases the girth of the plant root
Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial root or aerating ....
 or stem
Plant stem

A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaf, inflorescence , conifer cones or other stems etc....
, rather than its length, hence the phrase "secondary thickening". As long as the vascular cambium continues to produce new cells, the stem or root will continue to grow in diameter. In woody plants, this process produces wood
Wood

Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs, etc....
.