cambium
|cam-bi-um|
/ˈkæmbiəm/
layer that produces new vascular tissue
Etymology
'cambium' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'cambium', where 'camb-' meant 'exchange' or 'change'.
'cambium' was adopted in scientific (Modern Latin) and botanical usage to name the layer that effects change (growth) in plant stems and eventually entered English as 'cambium'.
Initially, the Latin term referred to 'exchange' or 'change'; over time it came to be used in botany for the tissue responsible for producing new vascular tissues and now means that specific layer of meristematic cells.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a layer of actively dividing (meristematic) plant cells located between the xylem and phloem that produces secondary vascular tissues (secondary xylem and secondary phloem).
Each growing season the cambium produces new layers of xylem toward the inside and phloem toward the outside.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/05 08:28